Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said he would pull his forces from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if the military command in Moscow doesn’t provide more ammunition, the latest sign of tension between the mercenary operation and Russia’s defense ministry.
(Bloomberg) — Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said he would pull his forces from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if the military command in Moscow doesn’t provide more ammunition, the latest sign of tension between the mercenary operation and Russia’s defense ministry.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said he met with NATO’s top military commander, US General Christopher Cavoli. The talks came days after Ukraine’s defense chief said final preparations are underway for a counteroffensive in the nation’s southeast.
A massive fire took several hours to extinguish at a fuel depot in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula after it was hit by suspected drones. Social media images earlier showed black smoke billowing high into the sky. Local, Kremlin-installed officials accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack.
Key Developments
- Russia Strikes Across Ukraine as Kyiv Says New Offensive Nears
- Wagner’s Prigozhin Warns He’s Ready to Withdraw From Bakhmut
- Bank of Russia Sees Economy Growing as Sanctions Shock Fades
- Russian Oil Still Powering Europe’s Cars With Help of India
(All times CET)
Macron, Zelenskiy Discuss Military Aid (8:02 p.m.)
President Emmanuel Macron spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy and reiterated France’s commitment to providing Ukraine the help it needs to restore sovereignty and territorial integrity, Macron’s office said in a statement.
In the phone call on Sunday, Macron also discussed Europe’s coordination of military aid “to be able to respond to Ukraine’s needs over time.”
Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief Meets With NATO’s Top General (4:20 p.m.)
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi had an extended meeting with US Army General Christopher Cavoli, the top commander of US forces in Europe and NATO’s top general, he said on Telegram.
The in-person meeting, the location of which wasn’t divulged, comes as speculation continues about when Kyiv will start a counteroffensive against Russian forces in Ukraine’s south.
“We are making it our goal to prepare in order to accomplish the set tasks to the maximum,” Zaluzhnyi wrote, without elaborating. Zaluzhnyi said he, Cavoli and other key commanders discussed possible scenarios, threats and conditions for “future actions.”
Russia Says Four Killed by Shelling in Border Region (4 p.m.)
Four people were killed and two wounded by shelling of the village of Suzemka, about 10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border in Russia’s Bryansk region, governor Alexander Bogomaz wrote in his Telegram channel.
Local authorities blamed “Ukrainian nationalists” for the incident. There was no comment from Ukrainian officials.
New Shakeup at Russian Defense Ministry (2 p.m.)
Colonel General Alexei Kuzmenkov has been appointed deputy defense minister for supply and logistics, Russia’s defense ministry said on its Telegram account, in the latest shakeup to the ranks of the nation’s military leadership.
Kuzmenkov had been deputy chief of Russia’s National Guard since 2019. He replaces Mikhail Mizintsev, who served at this post since September after leading Russian troops during the siege of Mariupol, weeks into the Kremlin invasion of Ukraine.
The news came after Wagner group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin complained in an interview of an acute ammunition shortage, warning that he’s ready to pull his mercenary troops from Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if the problem isn’t resolved.
Oil Depot Fire a Blow to Russian Logistics, Ukraine Says (11 a.m.)
The fire that engulfed a Russian fuel depot in Crimea on Saturday disrupted military logistics there, Nataliya Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine’s southern military command, said in a TV appearance.
The oil depot in Sevastopol supplied fuel to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which has been responsible for many missile strikes on Ukrainian cities, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook.
The large-scale fire destroyed ten fuel tanks with a total capacity estimated by Ukrainian intelligence officials at about 40,000 tons. The general staff statement didn’t specify whether Ukraine took responsibility for targeting the depot.
Merkel Defends Russian Policies She Pursued as Chancellor (10 a.m.)
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her Russian policies in an interview with Die Zeit, including support for the 2014 Minsk agreements which sought to end the separatist conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
Regarding the Kremlin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, months after she left office, Merkel said “I tried to prevent this situation with what I had to hand. That this wasn’t successful isn’t proof that it wasn’t right to try.”
In an interview at the Leipzig Book Fair on Saturday evening, Merkel declined to comment on how the war in Ukraine would end. The former chancellor called for the the relevant parties to keep an open mind about possible peace talks, according to Die Zeit.
Wagner’s Prigozhin Says Ammunition Shortage May Cause Pullback (8:30 a.m.)
Yevgeny Prigozhin told a Russian military blogger that he may be forced to pull his mercenary forces out of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine if Russia’s military command fails to provide more ammunition.
The Wagner Group founder said the company’s troops will need to “withdraw in an organized manner or stay and die” if the situation doesn’t immediately improve. Wagner is receiving a fraction of the ammunition it needs, he said.
“Prigozhin is likely attempting to regain access to more ammunition as Putin is once again reshuffling the Russian military leadership in a way that may favor” the Wagner operation, the Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said in an update.
Read more: Wagner’s Prigozhin Warns He’s Ready to Withdraw From Bakhmut
Six Kids Among 23 Killed by Russian Strike on Uman, Zelenskiy Says (8 a.m.)
Six children were among the 23 people killed in Friday’s Russian strike on the central Ukrainian city of Uman, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.
The Russian cruise missile largely leveled a high-rise apartment block in the city, south of Kyiv. Search and rescue operations were completed on Saturday.
Russia is Likely Using ‘Zindans’ to Punish Misbehaving Troops, UK Says (7 a.m.)
Russian commanders have likely started punishing breaches in discipline by detaining offending troops in “Zindans,” or improvised cells consisting of holes in the ground covered with a metal grille, the UK defense ministry said.
“Multiple recent reports from Russian personnel give similar accounts of being placed in Zindans for misdemeanors including drunkenness and attempting to terminate their contracts,” the ministry said in a Twitter update.
The move was said to be part of a crackdown after a “relatively light touch” by Russian commanders in enforcing discipline earlier in the now 14-month-old war.
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