the situation”it gets complicatedOn Saturday, February 4, President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted to the ground against Russian troops in Ukraine, which is again the target of intense bombing. Indeed, in the last 24 hours, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions were bombed, pressure increased in Bakhmut, Odessa was deprived of electricity… Le Figaro assesses the situation of the conflict in Ukraine.
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The situation is “complicating”, admits Zelensky
“During the 346 days of this war, I often said that the frontline is in a difficult situation. And the situation got complicated“, he said in his daily message. “Now it is very difficult in Bakhmut, Vugledar, Liman (in the east, editor’s note) and other regions.added the head of state of Ukraine.
“The enemy is concentrating its main forces on carrying out offensive operations in the directions of Kupyansk, Liman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Novopavlivka.“Ministry of Defense of Ukraine warned a while ago.
Canada delivered its first tanks
Canada sent the first of its promised Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine on Saturday, Defense Minister Anita Anand announced. Canadian Air Force Aircraft”From Halifax flew the first Leopard 2 battle tank, which we donate to Ukraine“The minister wrote on Twitter.
“Battle tanks are on their way to help Ukraine. The first Canadian Leopard 2 has disappeared. Canada’s support for Ukraine is unwavering“, the minister stated in another post on Twitter, which is accompanied by a video showing the filling of the tank and the departure of the plane carrying it. In late January, Canada announced its decision to supply German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a day after several Western countries made similar announcements.
“Consensus” not to attack Russia.
Western weapons will not be used for attacks on Russian territory, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured in an interview with the weekly newspaper. Bild am Sonntag:. There is “agreementIn this matter with Vladimir Zelensky, he said:
Kiev’s allies have taken new steps to provide military support to Ukraine, promising to provide heavy tanks and, in particular, longer-range missiles.
HAVE ALSO – Arms supply to Ukraine. Russia wonders if Macron has “adult logic”.
Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions were bombed
Artillery fire in the Donetsk regionmassiveUkrainian authorities said they targeted Avdiivka on the eastern front on Saturday morning after Kramatorsk, another city highly coveted by Russians, was shelled overnight, Ukrainian authorities said.
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Rescuers use a crane to remove debris from damaged Russian-controlled Donetsk on February 4, 2023. PAVEL KLIMOV / REUTERS
In the past 24 hours, only in the southern Zaporizhia province, shells fell “civil infrastructureaccording to the same sources, it is located in the territory of 26 settlements. The strikes also continued on Kherson, a major southern city that had been captured and then abandoned by the Russians.
Increasing pressure on Bakhmut
The Ukrainian border guards assured on Saturday that they pushed back “the attack of the invadersand ejected them from the Bakhmut suburb after aerial reconnaissance revealed that “the enemy was preparing to attackthis city is at the epicenter of fighting in Ukraine. They fired a mortarin the place of concentration of residents“Then take them”forced to retreat“We read in their press release.
“This week, the Russian occupation forces made every effort to break through our defenses and encircle Bakhmut, and launched a powerful offensive in the Liman sector. But thanks to the resilience of our soldiers, they failed“Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar summed up on Saturday.
Odessa without electricity
For its part, the port city of Odessa suffered major power outages on Saturday after a technical incident at a power plant that has been a frequent victim of Russian bombing in recent years.
“The district and the city of Odessa were almost completely blacked out. About 500,000 people do not have electricity“, the head of the district administration Maxim Marchenko emphasized.
“All basic infrastructure is provided (with power). Thus, the city will have water and heat. About a third of consumers have electricityThen the Minister of Energy German Galuchchenko said.
Exchange of new prisoners
In this context, Vladimir Zelensky is happy that a new exchange of prisoners may take place on Saturday, which will allow Kiev to recover 116 soldiers, including two officers.
In total, since February 24, the day the Russian invasion began, 1,762 Ukrainians held captive by the Russians have been released, he noted.
HAVE ALSO – War in Ukraine. A major exchange of prisoners between Kiev and Moscow, including the bodies of two Britons
Delivery of American weapons “in a few months”.
On Friday, the day the summit with the European Union took place in Kiev, Ukraine received assurances that it would acquire longer-range Western weapons. The new $2.2 billion in US military aid includes missiles that could nearly double the range of operations of Ukraine’s strike forces, according to the Pentagon.
We are specifically talking about the GLSDB (Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb), small diameter devices launched from the ground that can reach a target at a distance of 150 km and therefore threaten Russian positions behind the front lines. “The handover of GLSDBs will not take place for several months“, however, said the US Department of Defense.
Training on British tanks
Meanwhile, Paris announced that France and Italy are preparing to deliver the MAMBA medium-range surface-to-air defense system in the spring to help Ukraine.defend against attacks by Russian drones, missiles and planes“. As for Portugal, it is ready to send German-made Leopard 2 heavy tanks to the Ukrainians.
On Saturday, Vladimir Zelensky also stated that they should not be specified.very important thingsthat he was preparing to meet British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, following a recent conversation between the two men. He took the opportunity to welcome the fact that “now in UK our boys have already started training with Challenger tanks“, of which London promised to deliver 14 copies to its country.
The European embargo on oil products exported by sea should come into force on Sunday.negative“who goes”further imbalancemarkets, the Kremlin lamented.
Source: Le Figaro
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.