UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – Le Figaro provides an update on the latest information from journalists, Ukrainian and Russian statements, Western sources and international organizations.
Bakhmut ‘virtually surrounded’, Russia to ‘take action’ to prevent incursions, Borrell sees ‘small improvement’ at G20 with Russia… Le Figaro provides an update on the conflict in Ukraine, this Friday, March 3.
Bakhmout is ‘virtually surrounded’, says Wagner boss
The town of Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting in eastern Ukraine, ispractically surrounded by the Russian forces, said Friday, March 3 the boss of the paramilitary group Wagner. “Wagner’s units have virtually surrounded Bakhmout, only one road remainsto get out of it, Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a video posted on Telegram by his press service. Yevgeny Prigojine, whose men are on the front line in this battle, has called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to order Ukrainian troops to withdraw from the city, now largely destroyed and where both sides have suffered heavy losses. .
“If before we faced a professional Ukrainian army, which fought against us, today we see more and more old people and children. They fight, but their life in Bakhmout is short, a day or two“, launched Evguéni Prigojine. “Give them a chance to leave town, it’s practically surrounded“, he added. Despite a strategic importance disputed by experts, Bakhmout has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the industrial region of Donbass. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who went there in December, had sworn to defend this fortress city “as long as possible“.
Read alsoOn the front near Bakhmout, with a former international tennis star: the story of the special envoy of Figaro
Russia will “take measures” to prevent Ukrainian incursions
Russia will “take measures” to prevent Ukrainian incursions, after the Russian authorities reported the previous day a “infiltration” of “saboteurs” Ukrainians in a Russian region bordering Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Friday. “Conclusions will be drawn at the end of the investigation” about the alleged incursion into the Bryansk region on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. The authorities will “take measures to prevent such occurrences in the future”he pointed out.
The Russian security services (FSB, heir to the KGB) announced on Thursday that they had pushed back to Ukraine “saboteurs” Ukrainians infiltrated in the Bryansk region (southwest of Russia) and who opened fire on a car, killing two civilians and wounding a child, according to Moscow. kyiv denied any incursion and accused the Russian authorities of “provocation” aimed at justifying their military offensive against Ukraine.
Read alsoMoscow targets Ukrainian “saboteurs”
Biden and Scholz with Ukraine ‘as long as necessary’
They will support Ukraine “as long as necessary”: Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sent a signal of unity from the White House on Friday, to Russia but also, indirectly, to China. This visit to the White House is the second of the German leader, who had already been there on February 7, 2022. At the time, Russia “was amassing his troops” at the Ukrainian border, Joe Biden recalled from the Oval Office, where the two men made short statements to the press. Westerners then promised to “respond” And “we kept our word”said the American president, thanking Olaf Scholz seated near him.
“You have risen to power” in support of kyiv, he said, as Germany recently agreed, after long hesitation, to deliver tanks to Ukraine. Olaf Scholz judged him “Very important” to send a “message” concerning Ukraine, namely that “we will continue (to support her) as long as it takes”. The Kremlin had already criticized this meeting. “The United States continues its policy of increasing arms deliveries to Ukraine and persuading its proteges to do the same”, denounced his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Friday. The White House announced Friday a new military aid to Ukraine to the tune of 400 million dollars and composed mainly of ammunition.
Read alsoHow the US Is Pushing Germany to the Frontline on the War in Ukraine
Borrell sees ‘small improvement’ at G20 with Russia
The head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell said on Friday that he noted “a small improvement” diplomatically with Russia during the G20 meeting in India, despite divisions over Ukraine. On the sidelines of the G20 which ended Thursday without a joint statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefly spoke with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. It was their first face-to-face talks since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
Read alsoJosep Borrell: “Freedom has a price!”
Josep Borrell noted that the head of Russian diplomacy this time stayed for the meeting of G20 foreign ministers when Western countries condemned Russia for its invasion. Last year, during a previous meeting in Indonesia, Sergei Lavrov left a midday session with his G20 counterparts after a flood of statements condemning the invasion of Ukraine. “At least this time he stayed and he listened. It’s a small improvement but it’s important.judged the head of European diplomacy on the occasion of the Raisina Dialogue, a forum organized in New Delhi. “I think it’s better than nothing”he added.
Serbia has ‘not yet’ introduced sanctions against Russia
Serbia has no “not yet” decided on sanctions against Russia, but Belgrade “is doing a lot to support Ukraine”, Serbian Minister for European Integration Tanja Miscevic said in an interview with AFP on Friday. Along with Belarus, Serbia is the only European country that refused to align itself with Western sanctions against Moscow even though it condemned the invasion of Ukraine.
Read alsoWar in Ukraine: From President Vucic to ordinary citizen, the Serb is on the side of Moscow
Serbia, an EU candidate since 2012, maintains close cultural and historical ties with Russia, sharing the same Orthodox religion and hatred of NATO. Particularly since its Alliance aerial bombing campaign against Yugoslavia, then still composed of Serbia and Montenegro, in 1999. Belgrade, however, condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and “we have done a lot to support Ukraine”argued the minister, passing through Paris.
SEE ALSO – Ukraine: Bakhmout, the new “Stalingrad”, should be taken “in March or April” according to the head of Wagner