The bitter fighting for Bakhmut continues. President Zelenskyj warns of a task and is determined to hold the city. The Ukraine war in the news ticker.
- fight for Bachmut: Zelenskyj emphasizes key role
- Ukraine war: Moscow persists in capturing Bakhmut
- Here you can read the latest developments from the Ukraine conflict in the news ticker. The processed information on the Ukraine war comes partly from the warring parties in Russia and Ukraine. They can therefore not be independently checked in part.
Update from March 8th, 9:05 am: The Russian mercenary group Wagner says it has taken the “eastern part” of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which has been heavily contested for months. His units “took the entire eastern part of Bakhmut, everything east of the Bakhmutka River that divides the city in half,” mercenary squad chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message released on Wednesday.
The Wagner group founded by Prigozhin plays a central role in the battle over Bakhmut that has been going on for months. The pressure on the Ukrainian troops has recently increased significantly in the industrial city. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously warned that if the Russian army captured Bakhmut, it would have “free rein” for further conquests in eastern Ukraine.
War in Ukraine: Only around 4,000 civilians left in Bachmut
Update from March 8, 7:15 a.m.: As of March 7, less than 4,000 civilians, including at least 38 children, were in Bakhmut, Donetsk region. This was said by Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, according to UKrinform.
According to them, more than 70,000 people, including 12,000 children, lived in Bakhmut before the war. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced that the Cabinet of Ministers is working on a plan for the evacuation of children with at least one parent from combat zones.
Ukraine War: Bachmut largely destroyed
Update from March 8, 5:40 a.m.: In his daily video speech, Volodymyr Zelenskyy also recalled the commander Dmytro Kozyubajlo, who became known in Ukraine under his combat name “Da Vinci”, and who had been killed in Bakhmut. The 27-year-old is “one of Ukraine’s youngest heroes,” said Selenskyj. “One of those whose personal history, character and courage became forever the history, character and courage of Ukraine.”
For months there has been fierce fighting over Bachmut, which had a good 70,000 inhabitants before the war. The city, located in the Donetsk region, has now been largely destroyed and abandoned. In particular, Wagner’s Russian private army operating there was accused of ruthless action, and high losses in their own ranks were accepted with approval. Irrespective of this, the Russian Ministry of Defense recently announced that it intends to continue the fight with undiminished intensity.
War in Ukraine: Selenskyj warns of “free rein” for Russia
First report: KIEV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that if the Russian army captures the fiercely contested city of Bakhmut, there will be “free rein” for further Russian conquests in eastern Ukraine. “We are aware that they might go further following Bakhmut,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with the US television channel CNN. The Russian troops would then have “free rein to other Ukrainian cities, in the direction of Donetsk”.
Battle for Bachmut: Selenskyj emphasizes key role
In the CNN interview with popular TV host Wolf Blitzer, scheduled to air on Wednesday, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were determined to hold Bakhmut. “Everyone says we have to stay strong in Bakhmut,” said Zelenskyy, referring to a meeting with Ukraine’s chief of staff and other army leaders on Tuesday.
Of course, Kiev should also think regarding the lives of its soldiers, Zelensky said. “But while we wait for weapons and supplies and the army prepares for the counteroffensive, we must do everything in our power.”
Ukraine War: Moscow maintains capture of Bakhmut
Moscow meanwhile sticks to the capture of Bakhmut. On Tuesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu described capturing the eastern Ukrainian city as crucial for the continuation of the Russian offensive. At a televised meeting with officials in his ministry, Shoigu said taking control of Bakhmut would “enable new offensive in-depth operations once morest the defense of Ukraine’s armed forces.”
Bachmut has been hotly contested since last summer. The city is now surrounded on three sides by Russian troops. In view of the bitter fighting that has been going on for months, the city now has a high symbolic importance. According to Ukrainian sources, less than 4,000 civilians remain in Bakhmut, while the city had 70,000 inhabitants before the war began. (editorial with agencies)
