Ukraine’s defense of the besieged town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region is running out of options, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as “the enemy is gradually destroying everything which can be used to protect our positions, for reinforcement and defense.”
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s defense of the besieged town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region is running out of options, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as “the enemy is gradually destroying everything which can be used to protect our positions, for reinforcement and defense.”
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen made an unannounced trip to Ukraine to highlight US economic aid that’s helping keep the country’s public services running as Russia’s invasion enters its second year.
Saudi Arabia signed agreements valued at $400 million with Ukraine after the kingdom’s foreign minister made a surprise visit to Kyiv.
Russia’s War in Ukraine: Key Events and How It’s Unfolding
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Listen to our special conversations from last week, including our Twitter Space analyzing Zelenskiy’s press conference as it happened. We also discussed the military strategies of the war, the impact on energy and the environment, the effect of sanctions including on the wealth of Russia’s oligarchs and what the future holds for Ukrainian refugees.
Big Take Podcast: How Does Ukraine Continue to Beat Back Russia?
Key Developments
- Yellen Makes Secret Kyiv Trip to Buoy Ukraine, Build US Support
- Rule-of-Law Criticism Is Holding Up NATO Expansion, Hungary Says
- Ukraine Gets Support From Saudis With $400 Million Aid Deal
- Citi Expects About $190 Million of Costs on Russia Wind-Down
- Turkey Says NATO Talks With Sweden, Finland to Resume on March 9
On the Ground:
Bakhmut remains the epicenter of Russian attacks, with Russian forces conducting 300 artillery strikes, Ukrainian military spokesman Serhiy Cherevatyi said on television. Russia launched a squadron of Iranian-made, single-use drones, and Ukraine’s air force said it shot down 11 of 13. The attack hit the western city of Khmelnytskyi, killing two emergency workers and wounding three more, Zelenskiy said.
(All times CET)
Zelenskiy Sees Defending Bakhmut as Increasingly Difficult (8:18 p.m.)
Although Zelenskiy stopped short of announcing a pullout from the strategically placed town north of Russian-occupied Donetsk city, in his nightly address the president described a desperate situation in which all cover for his country’s forces there is being destroyed.
Last week, Zelenskiy said Ukraine wouldn’t defend Bakhmut at any cost.
Wizz Air Freezes Flights to Ukraine’s Neighbor Moldova (7 p.m.)
Discount carrier Wizz Air Holdings Plc. will suspend flights to Moldova’s capital Chisinau as of March 14, citing “the elevated but not imminent risk” in the airspace of the country that borders Ukraine, the Hungary-based airline said in an e-mailed statement.
Moldova has been under significant strain from Russia’s invasion of its neighbor, with several missiles crossing into Moldovan air space over the past year. However, officials with Moldova’s Civil Aviation Authority said on Monday that a risk assessment showed flights can be conducted safely across its airspace and that they “regret Wizz Air’s sudden decision.”
Wizz Air, the biggest discount operator in Central and Eastern Europe, will resume travel to Moldova “as soon as it is safe and secure,” the carrier said.
‘We Do Want Ukraine to Win,’ US Spokesman Says (6:36 p.m.)
The US has every intention of supporting Ukraine in order for it to achieve victory over Russia even though the Biden administration has resisted demands to provide it with F-16 fighter jets, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday.
“At no time have the Russians ever achieved air superiority over Ukraine,” Kirby said in an interview on Bloomberg Television’s “Balance of Power With David Westin.” Ukraine’s greatest need currently is for air defenses and a better capability for combined-arms maneuvers ahead of an expected counteroffensive in the spring, he said.
“We do want Ukraine to win,” Kirby said. “And we think Ukrainians can win, of course, but it’s going to be up to them to determine what victory looks like, and if and when they’re ready to go to the negotiating table.”
Top Ukrainian Commander Speaks with US Counterpart (6 p.m.)
The top military commanders of Ukraine and the US spoke by telephone. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi and Mark Milley discussed weapon supplies to Ukraine, the situation on the battlefield and the Ukrainian military’s plans on how to retake occupied territories.
Zaluzhnyi told Milley that Ukraine still needs to strengthen its air defenses, including by getting F-16 fighter jets.
Yellen Makes Secret Kyiv Trip to Show US Support (5:16 p.m.)
A week after US President Joe Biden’s surprise visit to the capital, Yellen arrived by train under similar secrecy to emphasize Washington’s commitment to Ukraine and demonstrate back home why the country needs billions of dollars in non-military aid.
She met President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and announced the disbursement of the first $1.25 billion in fresh economic assistance, out of a total $10 billion pledged by Biden’s administration.
The US has already provided almost $50 billion to Ukraine, she said. Without such funding, Ukrainians “wouldn’t be able to have kids who continue to go to school, whose parents continue to go to work,” Yellen said in an interview with Bloomberg News before her trip. “They wouldn’t be able to finance first responders and hospitals, and provide the core government services.”
Russia Halts Oil to Poland on Lack of Papers (4:44 p.m.)
Russia stopped oil shipments to Poland after pipeline operator Transneft didn’t receive documents necessary for the crude to be allowed to leave Russia and the loading schedule was changed to exclude flows to Polish refineries.
The producer of the oil that was due to be delivered to Poland in the final days of February didn’t send shipment orders or the transit payment, Transneft spokesman Igor Dyomin said.
On Saturday, Poland’s largest oil company, PKN Orlen SA said it had unexpectedly stopped receiving oil via the northern leg of the Druzhba pipeline.
Estonia Urges EU to Ramp Up Ammo Acquisition (3:39 p.m.)
Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur is urging the EU to focus on speedily acquiring ammunition for Ukraine instead of sending existing stocks, as the bloc’s top foreign policy chief has suggested, to jump-start industrial production.
“We should of course provide 155mm ammunition from existing stocks as well, but the demand stimulates supply only when new contracts are signed with the industry,” Minister Pevkur wrote in a letter to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell that was seen by Bloomberg. Pevkur stressed that Europe’s ammunition production volumes are currently insufficient, both to supply Ukraine but also replenish stocks in the long-term, as Russia fires Europe’s monthly production of artillery rounds in a single day.
The letter adds that procurements could be conducted by an EU body but also by a member state acting on behalf of the bloc if this were a quicker solution.
Monday Drone Attack Came From Rare Direction (1:35 p.m.)
An overnight drone attack was launched from Russian territory to Ukraine’s north, a vector that hasn’t been widely used since last year, Ukrainian Air Defense spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said.
Ukrainian officials said earlier that they had shot down 11 of the 14 Iranian-made Shahed drones in the salvo, which killed at least one person and wounded four others. The attack followed a report from UK intelligence that said there are indications Russia has run down its stock of unmanned attack aircraft.
“I don’t remember this happening for several months,” Ihnat said by phone. He added that the attack may signal that Russia has either redeployed drones to Ukraine’s north or received a new supply of the weapons.
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