WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine battles on in Bakhmut as Finland joins NATO
Fierce fighting continued in and around Bakhmut as Kyiv mocked Russian claims to have captured the administrative centre of the eastern Ukrainian city, saying its foes had raised a victory flag over "some kind of toilet".
The battle for the mining city and logistics hub of Bakhmut has been one of the bloodiest of the conflict, now in its second year, with many casualties on both sides and the city largely destroyed by bombardments.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner mercenary force spearheading the siege, said on Sunday his troops had raised a Russian flag on the city-centre administrative building even though Ukrainian soldiers still held some western positions.
"From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken," said Prigozhin, who has previously made premature claims.
But Ukraine's military said fighting was still raging around the city council building, as well as in other nearby towns.
"Bakhmut is Ukrainian and they have not captured anything and are very far from doing that," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Reuters.
"They raised the flag over some kind of toilet. They attached it to the side of who knows what, hung their rag and said they had captured the city. Well good, let them think they've taken it," Cherevatyi added by telephone.
The Ukrainian armed forces General Staff said in an evening statement 45 enemy attacks had been repelled in total in the last 24 hours, with Bakhmut at the "epicentre of operations" along with the cities of Avdiivka and Maryinka further south.
Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.
COUNTER-OFFENSIVE AWAITED
Lying on the edge of a chunk of Donetsk province under Russian control, Bakhmut had a population of 70,000 before Moscow invaded Ukraine in February last year.
Russian forces, bogged down in a war of attrition after a series of setbacks, are seeking a victory from their winter offensive but have suffered huge casualties around Bakhmut.
Ukrainian military commanders have said their own counteroffensive - backed by newly delivered Western tanks and other hardware - is not far off but have stressed the importance of holding Bakhmut and inflicting losses in the meantime.
"People are ready for the counteroffensive, all we are waiting for is marching orders and details on which direction we should go forward on - Bakhmut, Soledar or anywhere else," said a 35-year-old soldier of a tank brigade near Bakhmut, who used the nom-de-guerre Polyot.
Russian drones struck the Black Sea port of Odesa and there had been some damage from air defences, a regional military official said early on Tuesday, without providing details.
The governor of Bryansk region in southern Russia, Alexander Bogomaz, writing on Telegram, said a Ukrainian drone launched an attack near the town of Sevsk just over the border, firing an explosive device at an interior ministry building. There were no injuries and emergency services were working at the site.
'DRIVING A WEDGE'
Russia calls its invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation" to rid it of Nazis.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers on both sides have been killed. Russia has destroyed Ukrainian cities and forced millions of people to flee their homes, and it claims to have annexed nearly a fifth of Ukraine.
The West calls the war an unprovoked assault to subdue an independent country and has provided Kyiv with weapons while seeking to punish Russia with sanctions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the West of trying to drive a wedge between Russia and China, and attempting to wreck Russia's planned summit with African countries. He also said the European Union's hostile stance towards Moscow meant it had "lost" Russia.
"In reply to hostile steps, we will act in a tough manner if necessary, based on Russia's national interests and the principles of reciprocity accepted in diplomatic practice," Lavrov told the Argumenty i Fakty news website.
Western pressure on Russia may increase with Finland, which shares a 1,300-km (810-mile) border with Russia, joining NATO on Tuesday.
In response, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Russia would strengthen military capacity in its western and northwestern regions, state-owned news agency RIA reported.
"In the event that the forces and resources of other NATO members are deployed in Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia's military security," he told RIA.
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Kiev, Western puppeteers do everything to prolong conflict, Lavrov says
The Kiev regime and its Western puppeteers do everything they can in order to prolong hostilities, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in an interview for air.ru, published on the Foreign Ministry website Tuesday.
Commenting on peace plan for Ukraine, proposed by China, Lavrov noted that it is consonant for key Russian approaches.
"Especially regarding the need to ensure equal and indivisible security for all countries in Europe and in the world in general," the Minister noted. "So far, the peace process has been hindered by Kiev and its Western puppeteers who exert all efforts in order to prolong the hostilities."
Lavrov noted that Russian and Chinese leaders Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping stated "the importance for further close coordination on foreign policy."
"We see the causes of main challenges in the international security area in a similar way. We note the West’s unwillingness to engage in an inter-state dialogue based on principles of equality. We oppose the use of sanctions pressure methods and other instruments of unscrupulous competition," the Foreign Minister continued. "Meanwhile, our strategic cooperation is not aimed against third countries. It contributes to balanced development of the entire international system."
The Minister underscored that the Chinese side reaffirmed its "weighted position on the Ukrainian issue."
"We welcome Beijing’s readiness to play a constructive role in political and diplomatic resolution of the conflict," he concluded.
** Russian forces come almost right next to Artyomovsk train station — DPR Head
Russian forces have come very close to the railroad station in the center of Artyomovsk (Bakhmut), with Ukrainian forces retreating to the Western part of the city, Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin announced Monday.
"Artyomovsk direction: […] right now, [Russian] forces have come almost right next to the rail station. The enemy is forced to retreat to the previously prepared positions in the Western part [of the city]," Pushilin said on Russian TV, adding that intense fighting is underway in downtown Artyomovsk.
According to Pushilin, Russian forces engage in "almost constant offensive," and took roads leading into the city under a tighter fire control.
On Monday, Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin reported that Russian flag has been raised over the Artyomovsk city administration on Sunday evening.
Artyomovsk is located on the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and was a major transportation hub for the Ukrainian army’s supplies in Donbass. Fierce fighting for the city is underway.
Yan Gagin, military-political expert and adviser to the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said on March 22 that the city had been practically sealed off by Russian forces and all approaches to Artyomovsk were under Russian artillery control. He earlier said that Russian forces controlled about 70% of the city.
Acting DPR Head Denis Pushilin has repeatedly said that there is no evidence of the Ukrainian army’s plans to leave Artyomovsk. Meanwhile, Kiev claims that the city’s defense will be bolstered. Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky earlier said that Ukrainian troops would not surrender Artyomovsk and would fight for it as long as they could.
Reuters/TASS
