2023-05-13 19:14:21
On the 444th day of the offensive launched by Russia, Ukraine continues to support the assaults of Russian forces, and in anticipation of the great spring counter-offensive in Kiev, Moscow admitted on Friday that its forces had withdrawn to the north of the town of Bakhmout. Evgueni Prigojine, the founder of the Wagner militia, accuses the regular forces of defeat; Russian forces have likely withdrawn from their positions on the southern flank of operations in a widely scattered order over the past four days, reflecting its “serious shortage of credible combat units”, assessed the British Ministry of Defense for its part. Defense in its daily point, this Saturday. Ukrainian forces regained at least 1 km of front.
The Ukrainian army said in a daily update that Russia was concentrating its efforts near Lyman, Bakhmout, Avdiivka and Marinka.
Contested advances in Bakhmout. However, the forces of kyiv ensure that “the defensive operation in the direction” of this city, epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, continues. “Our soldiers are advancing in certain areas of the front (de Bakhmouth), and the enemy loses equipment and troops,” Ukrainian ground troop commander Oleksandre Syrsky said on Telegram. A few hours later, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that “assault units liberated a neighborhood in the northwestern part of the city of Artyomovsk”, the Russian name for Bakhmout. In this hotly contested battle, civilians are not spared. On Saturday afternoon, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office indicated that a Russian strike left two dead and ten injured, including children, 25 km from Bakhmout.
Nighttime drone attacks. During the night from Friday to Saturday, according to the Ukrainians, Russia launched 21 attack drones on the territory of Ukraine. 17 were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense, including those targeting the capital Kiev, and debris from Iranian-made Shahed drones was identified, as well as an operational-tactical Orlan-10 drone. Four drones that could not be shot down caused damage in the Khmelnitsky region. In addition to damaged so-called “critical” infrastructure, eleven people were injured in the ensuing fire. In Mykolaiv, the Russians hit a kindergarten, a bakery and two buildings. Fires broke out, injuring three people.
Moscow accuses kyiv of using British missiles on civilian targets. On Thursday, before the House of Commons, British Defense Minister Ben Wallace confirmed the dispatch of Storm Shadow long-range cruise missiles to kyiv. But he did not specify if the weapons had already been sent or if they were going to be. This Saturday at noon, the Russian Minister of Defense accused Kiev: “Storm Shadow air-to-air missiles supplied to the Kiev regime by the United Kingdom were used” on Friday for a strike on “civilian targets” in the city Lugansk, causing “wounded including six children”.
Zelensky in Rome. The Ukrainian president was in Rome (Italy), for the first time since the start of the war, where he met Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose support has not wavered since his election. Volodymyr Zelensky then traveled to the Vatican where he spoke with Pope Francis. For months, the sovereign pontiff has intended to talk about peace with Russia and with Ukraine. Last April 30, returning from a trip to Hungary, François announced to journalists that “a mission” was “in progress”, but that it was “not yet public”. “Let’s see how… When it’s public, I’ll talk about it,” he said. kyiv had denied.
After his stay with our transalpine neighbors, the Ukrainian president is expected this Sunday in Germany to meet there in particular the leaders of the first European economy.
New German aid. The German government announced, this Saturday morning, to prepare a new military aid plan for Ukraine of 2.7 billion euros, including the delivery of numerous tanks, armored vehicles, drones and anti-aircraft defense system. “We all want a quick end to this atrocious war by Russia against the Ukrainian people, but unfortunately it is not in sight. This is why Germany will provide all the assistance it can, for as long as necessary,” the Minister of Defense said in a press release. This aid “condemns” Russia “to lose”, welcomed Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency. The announcement comes on the eve of a possible visit to Germany by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in Rome on Saturday morning.
A spy balloon in Poland? An unidentified object entered Polish airspace, coming from Belarus, a vassal country of Russia. It is probably an observation balloon, the Ministry of Defense said on Twitter on Saturday. Poland, a NATO member and neighbor of Ukraine, is watching its airspace like milk on the fire. In November and December, missiles had accidentally landed on its territory. Radar contact with the balloon “was lost near Rypin”, a town in north-central Poland. Searches are underway to find the object.
South Africa denies supplying weapons to Russia. The United States has accused Pretoria of failing to respect South Africa’s neutrality in the conflict: a sanctioned Russian ship reportedly recovered weapons from a naval base near Cape Town late last year. On Friday, an arms control minister and a foreign ministry spokesman said South Africa had not approved any arms shipments to Russia in December, “neither sanctioned nor approved”, it said. said Mondli Gungubele. But he did not say whether the shipment left South Africa anyway.
A Chinese envoy to Moscow and kyiv. Western countries, including France, have long hoped that China would put pressure on its Russian ally, but Beijing had contented itself with vague declarations and a quickly swept away twelve-point peace plan. For the first time, a very high-ranking Chinese ambassador will go to Europe to discuss “a political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis”. Li Hui, special representative for Eurasian affairs, is expected next week in Ukraine, Poland, France, Germany and Russia. Aged 70, Li Hui was ambassador to Russia from 2009 to 2019. His arrival was announced during a telephone interview at the end of April between Chinese presidents Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the first since the start of the conflict.
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