Russia continues to attack in Bakhmut, but Ukraine wants to have the situation under control. President Selenskyj speaks of terror against the population in the hinterland. An overview.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian armed forces have the situation on the country’s fronts under control. Nevertheless, the military reports of continued Russian attacks in the east of the country – with a focus on Bakhmut. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants to make a government statement this Thursday, a good year after the Russian attack on Ukraine and the associated realignment of German security policy. The foreign ministers of the G20 group of leading economic powers also want to discuss the future of international conflict resolution in New Delhi on Thursday.
Selenskyj accuses Russians of “deliberate terror”.
“We have every area on the front line under control,” said Zelenskyj in his nightly video speech on Wednesday. However, the people behind the fronts would continue to suffer from the Russian attacks. “Deliberate terror,” Zelenskyy said of the Russian artillery attacks on towns and villages behind the fronts in southern and eastern Ukraine.
“In most of our country, where we have managed to provide relative safety, they (residents) may not understand what life is like for people living in the border areas with Russia and in the south of our country,” said Zelenskyy. Although the people there are not at the front, they are still directly involved in the war. “Where Russia is constantly trying to destroy everything the people have, constantly – and that’s no exaggeration.”
Embed
Kiev: Russian attacks near Bakhmut continue
According to reports from the Ukrainian general staff, the Russian military continued its attacks in eastern Ukraine unabated on Wednesday. The city of Bakhmut, which had been fought over for weeks, was once again the focus of the heaviest fighting, as the Ukrainian army command announced in its daily situation report. Russian units are already pressuring the city from three sides.
A series of Russian artillery and air strikes were also reported from around the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. There were also civilian casualties in rocket attacks, it said. No further details were given. The Ukrainian air defense shot down two Iranian-made kamikaze drones in the region.
Russian attacks were also reported from Kremenchuk, southeast of Kiev. The governor of the Poltava region, Dmytro Luni, reported that “civilian and critical infrastructure objects” were hit near Kremenchuk. For the time being, he did not provide any further information on possible victims or damage.
Reports of explosions in Crimea
Several explosions were registered in Russian-occupied Crimea on Wednesday evening. The detonations were heard in Yalta, Bakhchisarai and Gurzuf in the south of the peninsula, social media reported. There were no official statements on this.
EU could increase incentives for ammunition supplies to Ukraine
Countries like Germany could get significantly more EU money in the future if they quickly deliver urgently needed ammunition to Ukraine. In a discussion paper published on Wednesday, the EU Commission proposes that member states reimburse up to 90 percent of the costs from EU funds in the event of prompt deliveries. So far, the reimbursement rate for such applications has usually been significantly lower.
The states are required to make 155 millimeter caliber artillery ammunition available quickly, according to the paper that is available to the German Press Agency and about which the “Spiegel” initially reported. The transfer must be made from existing stocks or orders pending delivery.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had already called on the defense ministers of the EU states to expand ammunition deliveries last week. The background was concerns that Ukraine could soon lack urgently needed types of ammunition.
According to a background paper from Estonia, Russia fires an average of 20,000 to 60,000 rounds of artillery ammunition per day, while Ukraine only fires 2,000 to 7,000 rounds per day.