Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered his military commander to summon more forces to defend against Russia’s attempt to cut off the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut. Kremlin forces are on the offensive along five axes in Ukraine’s east, including near Bakhmut.
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ordered his military commander to summon more forces to defend against Russia’s attempt to cut off the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut. Kremlin forces are on the offensive along five axes in Ukraine’s east, including near Bakhmut.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu made a rare visit to troops in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, according to a video released by his ministry. Shoigu “paid special attention to the creation of necessary conditions for the safe accommodation of personnel in field conditions,” the ministry said.
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(All times CET)
Zelenskiy Vows to Hold Bakhmut After Previous Uncertainty (9:44 p.m.)
Zelenskiy said he asked his key military officers Monday whether Ukraine should pull out of Bakhmut or continue defending it. They were unanimous, he said, in supporting its continued defense despite Russian successes in surrounding the besieged city on three sides.
He said he ordered commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi to find new forces to help Bakhmut’s defenders.
It was a change of tone for Zelenskiy, who last month said that “the enemy is gradually destroying everything that can be used to protect our positions, for reinforcement and defense” and that his forces wouldn’t hold the city “at any cost and with everyone dying.”
Zelenskiy Removes Some Officials From Security Service (7:33 p.m.)
Zelenskiy removed Oleksandr Yakushev, the deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as well as four lower-ranking officials, according to the text of decrees on the presidential website.
Among those removed are chiefs of the SBU departments of state secrets and procurement, as well as regional heads in Zaporizhzhia and Sumy. The decrees didn’t explain reasons for the reshuffle.
Ukraine’s Ground Commander Visits Bakhmut Troops Again (4:30 p.m.)
Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander in charge of Ukraine’s ground forces, made a new visit to troops defending Bakhmut and its outskirts on Monday, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.
The intensity of fighting in Bakhmut is at the maximum level as reinforcements from Russia’s Wagner group arrived, according to Syrskyi.
Estonia Calls for EU to Halve Its Oil Price Cap (4:15 p.m.)
The European Union should halve the $60 price cap on Russian oil this month and further squeeze Moscow’s ability to fund the war in Ukraine, Estonia’s foreign minister said.
“We have to put the Russian crude oil price cap so that it will not allow the Russia state to receive extra benefit,” Urmas Reinsalu said in an interview in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
EU states have committed in principle to aim to keep the cap at 5% below average market prices. Any changes to the threshold are set by the Group of Seven nations, who are due to meet later this month to discuss the matter.
Russia’s Budget Deficit Rises (3 p.m.)
Russia’s budget deficit jumped in the first two months of the year but spending showed signs of growing at a slower pace amid the invasion of Ukraine.
Russia’s Crude Exports From Pacific Ports Slide (2:15 p.m.)
Russia’s seaborne crude exports fell back sharply from the previous weeks’ highs, with Moscow unable to maintain record flows from the country’s Pacific ports. Flows from Baltic and Black Sea ports, where cargoes are being sold at a 25% discount to those shipped from the Pacific, were unchanged from the previous week.
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Ukraine’s Leading Sunflower Oil Exporter to Delist in Warsaw (2 p.m.)
The founder of Ukraine’s leading producer and exporter of sunflower oil, Kernel Holding SA, is seeking to delist the company from the Warsaw Stock Exchange after a year of war devastated its operations. Andrii Verevskyi plans a tender offer to acquire the remaining 62% stake in the Ukrainian company, whose shares have been traded in Warsaw since 2007, according to Trigon Dom Maklerski SA, which is arranging the transaction.
Wagner’s Prigozhin Says Defense Ministry Barred His Envoy (1:13 p.m.)
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Russian mercenary group, accused the military of blocking access to his representative after he made new complaints about a shortage of ammunition.
Prigozhin said the Russian military headquarters in Ukraine annulled the pass of his envoy and prevented him from entering their premises Monday, according to a statement posted by his press service.
The mercenary chief over the weekend blamed “ordinary bureaucracy or betrayal” for the ammunition shortage among his forces fighting in Bakhmut. He wrote a letter to the military campaign’s top commander urgently requesting more supplies.
Ukraine Picks New Head of Anti-Corruption Bureau (12:04 p.m.)
The Ukrainian government voted to appoint Semen Kryvonos as head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. Kryvonos, 40, previously served as head of the state inspection on architecture and bridge construction.
By making this appointment, Ukraine now fulfills all the recommendations required for EU membership talks, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on Monday. Shmyhal said he hopes this would allow Ukraine to start accession discussions this year.
German, UK Air Forces to Carry Out Joint Mission for First Time (7:35 a.m.)
Germany’s Luftwaffe and the UK’s Royal Air Force will jointly patrol NATO’s east flank over Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, starting on Monday, before Germany hands over control of the NATO Air Policing Baltics mission to the UK in April, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported, citing the defense ministry in Berlin.
It’s the first time Germany and the UK will deploy mixed air squads in a so-called fully integrated operation, according to the report. Germany has had five Eurofighters and 150 soldiers stationed at Estonia’s Ämari airbase since August, when it took over the lead of the mission, DPA said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius starts a two-day trip to visit troops in Lithuania on Monday.
Estonia’s Kallas Fends Off Challenge From Far Right (7:35 a.m.)
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas’s Reform party took 31.6% of the vote, according to the Estonian Electoral Commission with more than 95% of the vote counted late Sunday.
The prime minister, who has become popular at home and abroad for her unwavering support for Ukraine, outperformed polls and appeared to be in a strong position to form a coalition majority.
Kallas’s victory provides a strong mandate for her pledge to maintain Estonia’s transatlantic course as a committed member of the European Union and NATO.
Ukraine Says Russia Is on Offense Along Five Axes in the East (7:35 a.m.)
Kremlin forces are on the offensive along five axes in the east, including near Bakhmut, the Ukrainian General Staff said over the weekend. Bakhmut’s deputy mayor said Russian attacks are preventing Ukrainian troops from reaching residents who want to evacuate.
Kremlin troops “appear to have secured a sufficient positional advantage to conduct a turning movement against parts of Bakhmut but have not yet forced Ukrainian forces to withdraw and will not likely be able to encircle the city soon,” said analysts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared in a video on Sunday saying that if his forces withdrew from the city, the “entire front line will collapse.” On Friday, Prigozhin claimed Bakhmut was “practically surrounded” by Russian forces, including his troops, and that Kyiv would be best advised to give up.
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