Ukrainian troops are holding positions along the front line in eastern Donetsk region, including the town of Bakhmut, which is surrounded by what Ukrainian military officials say are the fiercest battles behind the towns of Vugledar and Maryinka.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 354, LIVETEXT:

08:24 NATO is to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the latest reports of September explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said late Saturday.

The announcement comes after 1970 Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh said in a blog post, citing an unidentified source, that US Navy divers destroyed the pipelines with explosives on the orders of President Joe Biden.

The White House dismissed claims that the United States was behind the pipeline explosions as “absolutely false and a complete fabrication” (Reuters).

08:20 Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, the surrounding region, as well as Odesa and Dnipro regions may avoid blackouts on Sunday, major energy company DTEK said, as authorities try to restore networks damaged by a wave of Russian attacks on Friday.

A brief summary of recent events regarding Russian aggression:

• “Despite the constant pressure of the enemy, we still control Bakhmut and are taking measures to stabilize the front line around this city,” said Valery Zaluzhny, Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• The Russians attempted an offensive in the Vugledar area, but reportedly suffered a heavy blow: they are believed to have lost dozens of armored vehicles and tanks in the failed attack.
• The head of Wagner’s mercenary group said it could take two years for Moscow to control all two regions in eastern Ukraine, which it has declared a key war objective. , which he called a “shredder”.
• On Saturday evening, Zelenskyi announced new measures to strengthen actions against Russian agents in his country’s civil administration.
• Ukraine’s allies have circulated a draft resolution to be adopted by the UN General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, a document that emphasizes the need for peace that ensures Ukraine’s “sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity.”
• Russia is ready for negotiations with Ukraine, but without preconditions, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Serhiy Vershinin said, according to state media.
• Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matitsyn said that calls from more than 30 countries to exclude Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics are unacceptable, TASS reports.
• According to the Ukrainian military, 1,140 Russian soldiers were “liquidated” on Friday, a new daily record in the war launched by Vladimir Putin.
• On the Zatoka bridge in southern Ukraine near Odesa, on the most important road leading to the Republic of Moldova and Romania, an explosion occurred, most likely after an attack by a ground drone of the Russian Navy.
• The flight of a Russian missile over NATO airspace is unlikely to provoke an escalation, according to the Institute for the Study of War, which “continues to assess with high confidence that Russian President Vladimir Putin does not want to risk a direct conflict with NATO.”

——————

• Saturday’s events were broadcast live on HotNews.ro