Heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine – nightly update without photos British economy remains in recession for a year

Heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine – Russians change tactics

“The Donbass is the most important front in the struggle for Ukraine’s independence,” Serhiy Cherevatyy, spokesman for the Eastern Army Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said on television Saturday. The focus of the fighting was therefore on the Bakhmut traffic junction and the small town of Avdiivka. “The enemy has changed its tactics,” Cherevaty said. Instead of attacks by larger units, there were now attacks by smaller groups, especially by the mercenary troop “Wagner”, supported by barrel and rocket artillery. “We analyze this tactic and find an antidote to every military poison.”

The Russian army had previously reported on its offensive in the region. “In the Donetsk area, the Russian units continued their attacks and drove the enemy from their fortified positions,” army spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in Moscow on Saturday. Positions were also established in the north between the small towns of Kreminna and Lyman. The information could not be independently verified. Reports have been circulating for weeks that the Ukrainian army is on the defensive in the Donetsk region, trying to hold its defensive lines in front of the industrial city of Donetsk and east of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk conurbation.

The current developments in the live ticker:

Authorities: Ukrainian missile launcher attacks Donetsk

Ukrainian forces fired rocket launchers into Donetsk several times on Saturday, according to Russian authorities. The bus station in the center and a school were also hit, the Russian state agency Tass reports. Donetsk is the largest city in the region of the same name, which was declared an independent people’s republic by Moscow-backed separatists. Meanwhile, Moscow has annexed the area in violation of international law. Russia attacked the neighboring country in late February.

Report: Deaths after missile strikes in Melitopol

According to initial reports, two people were killed and two others injured in an attack by Ukrainian artillery on the city of Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine, which was occupied by Russian forces. According to Tass, the representative of the occupation administration, Vladimir Rogov, said that a restaurant was hit during the attack. According to his account, several projectiles had been fired at the city from a Himars rocket launcher. A convalescent home was also hit.

Anti-aircraft guns deployed in Russian-occupied territories

According to military information, anti-aircraft guns were activated in areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian troops on Saturday night. There were reports of air defense deployments from both Simferopol in Crimea and Melitopol in southeastern Ukraine, Tass reported. Local residents reported numerous mid-air explosions on social media. There was no information on the nature of the possible attack or its impact.

Estonia demands more arms shipments to Ukraine

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas is urging Germany and other allies to continue supplying arms to Ukraine. “I urge all allies, including Germany, to send to Ukraine everything it needs to defend itself,” the prime minister told the German news agency. “If all allies had sent weapons in January or February, many lives would have been saved.” Unlike Germany, Estonia, one of the smallest EU countries, had already supplied arms to Ukraine before Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine began on February 23.

Zelenskyj honors Nobel laureate

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj recognized the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to his compatriot Olexandra Matviychuk’s human rights organization as a special event. “This year, for the first time, the language of Ukraine, our Ukrainian language, was heard at the ceremony – thanks to the Center for Civil Liberties and its director, Ms. Matviychuk, who received the Peace Prize,” Zelenskyy said on Saturday night in his daily video address. Human rights activists from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine received the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Saturday.

EU countries agree to package of 18 billion for Ukraine without Hungary

The EU countries have agreed on a billion-dollar package for Ukraine. However, the decision was taken against Hungary’s vote on Saturday, the German news agency learned from EU circles. According to the decision, EUR 18 billion will be paid to Kiev over the next year. According to the EU Commission’s original proposal, the aid package actually required a unanimous decision by the 27 EU countries. However, Budapest blocked the package over a dispute over the possible freezing of EU billions for Hungary. That is why the current Czech presidency of the EU Council was looking for a way to decide on aid without Hungary.

That will be important on Sunday

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Zelensky on Sunday. The goal is to “strengthen” the Black Sea freighter corridor established with the grain deal, Erdogan announced in Istanbul. He gave no details. (sda/dpa)