Ukraine deadlocked on 3 frontlines
British military officials say the war is in a stalemate in Ukraine’s northeast, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia. Zelenskyy attended a funeral for the interior minister killed in a helicopter crash. DW has the latest.
In the northeast, near Kremina, Ukraine has likely made small gains and successfully defended against a Russian counterattack,” British analysts said based on intelligence reports.
In the south, both sides had massed significant forces in the Zaporizhzhia region, the UK said. Artillery fights and smaller clashes were taking place, but so far there was no major offensive.
Moscow’s forces said they led “offensive operations” in the region and claimed to have “taken more advantageous lines and positions.”
Kyiv: West should ‘think faster’ over military support after tank indecision
Germany, to send Leopard-2 battle tanks repeatedly requested by Kyiv.
“But today’s indecision is killing more of our people. Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster.”
Zelenskyy blasts Russian delays to Ukrainian food exports
The Ukrainian president also called for the removal of the continuing obstructions to food exports from his country by sea.
“More than 100 ships transporting food up near the Bosphorus,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday in a video message to an international conference of agriculture ministers in Berlin.
“Why? Because they need to , and Russian representatives are blocking this inspection. The ships for weeks,” he said, predicting higher food prices for Europe as a consequence.
Meanwhile, Russia on Saturday denied blockading Ukrainian grain ships and blamed Kyiv for creating an “artificial traffic jam.”
“Currently, 64 ships are at anchor in Ukrainian ports and inspection zones. The order of their inspection the Ukrainian side, Russian representatives have no influence on this at all,” the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement.
The Russian navy blockaded Ukraine’s Black Sea ports immediately after the start of the war last February.
Mediated by Turkey and the United Nations, an end to the blockade upon last summer to defuse the global food crisis. However, Russian warships have the right to inspect the ships’ cargo.
Russia’s Wagner chief writes to White House over new US sanctions
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Friday that Wagner, which has been supporting Russian forces in their invasion is Ukraine and claiming credit for battlefield advances, would a significant Transnational Criminal Organization .
A letter in English addressed to Kirby and posted on the Telegram channel of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s press service read: “Dear Mr. Kirby, Could you please clarify what crime PMC Wagner?”
Kirby called Wagner “a criminal organization that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses.”
North Korea’s Foreign Ministry called the report groundless, and Prigozhin at is time denied taking such a delivery, calling the report “gossip and speculation.”
Washington had already imposed curbs in trade with Wagner in 2017 and again in December in an attempt to restrict its access to weaponry.
The European Union imposed its own sanctions in December 2021 on Wagner, which has been active is Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, Sudan, Mozambique and Mali, as well as Ukraine.
mm/fb (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)