Poland offers fighter jets to Ukraine again – the nightly update without photos Why the Iranian women’s movement is central to Iran’s political change

Ukraine plans further defense of Donbass

Ukraine is planning its next steps in the defense of Donbass and the city of Bakhmut against Russian invaders. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening video address on Wednesday that he had discussed this with the army and the secret service. “The front line, our defense, the battle for Bakhmut and all of Donbass. That has the highest priority.” However, he did not give details.

The president appealed to the community spirit of Ukrainians in the struggle. “It is very important that the frontline is not a line on the map. It’s people, it’s resilience, it’s combat readiness, it’s mutual support, it’s mutual aid,” Zelenskyy said.

On Thursday evening, the Russians again attacked Ukraine with missiles. The air raid siren was activated in many cities. You can find the latest developments here, in the live ticker:

Is the long battle for Bachmut already a victory?

The Ukrainian General Staff reported on Wednesday evening that Russian attacks continued on all sectors of the front, particularly in the Donbass industrial and coal region in the east. The almost surrounded city of Bakhmut would also continue to be attacked. In addition to the regular army, the Russian side also deployed the private Wagner mercenary group there. There is always a tactical withdrawal of the besieged Ukrainians from the city. However, the Kiev leaders decided to continue defending Bakhmut.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar described the detention of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut as a success. “Everyone wants news from liberated areas and that’s called a victory. But it is already a victory that our brave soldiers have destroyed the enemy and the strongest and most professional Wagner units there for months,” Maljar said on TV.

It was also a success that a large number of enemy troops were tied down, reducing the enemy’s attack potential. “That means you have to defend (further) at this point,” Maljar said of the military leadership’s adherence to Bakhmut.

Zelenskyy: Bakhmut is of critical strategic importance

Ukrainian President Zelensky defended the decision to keep his troops in Bakhmut. In Russia’s war against his country, Bakhmut is of critical strategic importance, Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening (local time) in an exclusive interview with US television channel CNN. «After Bachmut they could move on. You could go to Kramatorsk, to Sloviansk,” said Zelenskyj, referring to the Russian attackers. If Bakhmut falls, the Russians will have the option of moving to other parts of the country, Selenskyj said. “That’s why our guys are there.”

US secret services: Putin is playing for time

In the US, intelligence agencies expect Putin to prepare for a protracted war against Ukraine. “We don’t expect the Russian military to recover enough for major territorial gains this year,” intelligence coordinator Avril Haines said at a Senate hearing in Washington. Prolonging the war, including possible fighting, could be his best remaining path to securing Russia’s strategic interests in Ukraine — even if it takes years.

Ukraine believes the power shortage has been overcome

For now, Ukraine sees the electricity supply problems as over – unless new Russian attacks damage the system. There has been no power shortage for the past 25 days and no shortage is in sight. So said the head of Ukrenerho, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. “The hardest winter in our history is over,” he said in Kiev.

Since last October, Russia has repeatedly fired missiles to destroy Ukraine’s electricity and heat supplies. In all parts of the country, this led to hourly and daily outages of electricity, district heating and water. However, the Ukrainians always managed to repair the broken network. On the night of Thursday, an air raid siren was temporarily issued over parts of eastern Ukraine due to feared attacks.

Poland offers Ukraine its MiG-29

The discussion about the Polish MiG-29s arose shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine last year. According to Polish military experts, the country still has about 30 machines of this type in service. Many come from old GDR stocks.

“We are ready to deliver these planes and I am sure Ukraine is ready to use them immediately,” President Duda told CNN. An international vote is needed, but he did not go into detail. It is also important for the future to train more Ukrainian pilots on American F-16 fighter jets, Duda said during a visit to Abu Dhabi.

At the Munich Security Conference in February, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called a NATO decision a must. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said his country will not stop others from supplying fighter jets.

That will be important on Thursday

In Brussels, there will be further talks between Turkey and the Nordic countries Finland and Sweden about joining NATO. Turkey is blocking the process. Above all, she accuses Sweden of not acting consistently enough against people and organizations that Ankara considers terrorists. Impressed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden had decided to join the Western Defense Pact. They also still have no approval from Hungary.

In addition, according to new press reports, the guesswork about the attack on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 Baltic Sea pipelines should continue in September 2022. According to their own statements, German investigators have identified the ship from which the attacks are said to have been carried out. According to press reports, the leadership could reach pro-Ukrainian groups through the ship’s charterers. However, Ukraine denies involvement. Representatives of other countries are covered in background assumptions. (sda/dpa)