It is not yet the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive – President Volodymyr Zelensky has said more time is needed to prepare it – but the intensifying fighting in recent days around Bakhmut will allow Kiev’s troops to advance about two kilometers this week . Moscow confirmed yesterday that its troops were “deployed” to “more advantageous defensive positions”, but Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claims the army “walked away”.
As revealed yesterday, the spokesman of the Ukrainian armed forces in the east of the country, Serhii Cherevaty, “On the last day alone there were 40 engagements, with 190 occupants killed, 244 wounded and a further 15 captured”. Three tanks and five Russian ammunition depots were also destroyed. The same official suggested to Ukrainian television that the advances are made possible by the low motivation of Russian soldiers to fight, at a time when they are replacing Wagner Group mercenaries in the region.
Russia admitted to withdrawing for the first time, without saying so categorically. However, he claimed his troops had been “deployed” to “more advantageous defensive positions”. Meanwhile, the Foreign Office criticized the UK’s decision, announced the day before, to send long-range Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine. “We see this decision as an extremely hostile move by London to send more arms to Ukraine and lead to a serious escalation of the situation.”
Eurovision vs. Zelensky
The British government yesterday criticized the organization of the Eurovision Song Contest for prohibiting Zelensky from sending a message to pass during today’s final. The British city of Liverpool is hosting the competition, which should have been hosted by Ukraine – the 2022 winner.
The European Broadcasting Union said in a statement that the strict rules reflect the “non-political nature of the event”. So they rejected Zelensky’s request to send a message to the public. However, the president’s office denied that any request had been made for him to participate in the festival.
Despite this, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak criticized the situation, saying he was “disappointed” with the ban. “The values and freedoms that President Zelensky and the people of Ukraine are fighting for are not political, they are fundamental,” he claimed.
Away from the Eurovision stage, Zelensky will be in Rome today, where he has scheduled meetings with his Italian counterpart, Sergio Mattarella, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and with Pope Francis.
Source: DN
