Ukrainian forces are inflicting “extremely significant” losses on the Russian occupiers near the city of Ukhledar, and the defense of the besieged city of Bakhmut will continue, but “not at any cost,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, commenting on the fighting in the country’s east. Donbass region. .

The Ukrainian military, who were conducting exercises over the weekend near the small town of Shiversk, said they were preparing to defend one of the possible targets of a new Russian attack. The town, which had a population of 10,000 before the war, is 35 kilometers north of Bakhmut, where heavy fighting has taken place in recent weeks.

USA is moving

US President Joe Biden will visit Poland February 20-22 to mark the first anniversary of Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would discuss with Biden a possible increase in the presence of US troops in Poland and make it permanent.

However, Ukrainian officials have again called on members of the US Congress to put pressure on the Biden administration to send F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv.

At the same time, the Biden administration plans to introduce new export controls and a new package of sanctions targeting Russia’s defense and energy sectors, financial institutions and many individuals, Bloomberg reports.

The United States even concluded that Russia committed “crimes against humanity” during its invasion of Ukraine, said Vice President Kamala Harris. Moscow responded that Washington was trying to provoke a crisis with such a statement.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi of the consequences if China provided material support for a Russian invasion, and Kamala Harris said Chinese support would reward Moscow’s aggression.

Wang said that China “has not stood still or added fuel to the fire” on the Ukraine crisis and continues to call for peace and dialogue.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, for her part, will travel to Kyiv today, Monday, to meet with Zelensky, Italian sources say. Meloni, who took office in October, said she planned to visit Kyiv before the anniversary of the Russian invasion.

European movements

At the same time, Zelensky, in an interview published on Sunday in the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, said that French President Emmanuel Macron was wasting time on any dialogue with Russia. The two presidents spoke by phone on Sunday.

EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell addressed EU members on Sunday. buy weapons together to help Ukraine, but warned that this would not solve Kyiv’s dire need for more ammunition now.

Source: Reuters.