Russian forces attacked Bakhmut in the Donetsk region for months, sometimes in waves, and the site became one of the bloodiest battles of the war. Ukrainian forces fighting to defend the eastern town of Bakhmut dug new trenches in an attempt to stop Russian forces, while the United States said new military aid to Ukraine would be discussed at a meeting on Friday with Germany’s leader.

A brief summary of recent events:

• Putin convenes Russia’s Security Council after Ukraine accuses of terrorism / Speculation that he may officially declare war. Russian President Vladimir Putin convened an extraordinary meeting of the Russian Security Council on Thursday after receiving information from the Federal Security Service (FSB, formerly the KGB) about combat operations allegedly carried out by Ukrainian units on Russian territory.
• A new message from Moscow for the Republic of Moldova after the vote for the anti-war declaration in the Chisinau parliament. “We once again ask the authorities of Moldova to stop the confrontational anti-Russian rhetoric, which is completely groundless,” said the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, quoted by AFP.
• Biden and Scholz will meet on Friday. US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will focus their talks on Friday mainly on the war in Ukraine but may also address concerns that China may be providing lethal aid to Russia, a senior administration official said, according to Reuters.
• Scandal with Gazprombank in Switzerland: how Putin spent millions of euros through the accounts of Russian cellist Sergei Roldugin. “The case revolves around assets worth around 50 million francs,” the Tribune de Genève said, questioning whether the musician was a “front person” for the Russian president and his entourage.
• Russian troops continue their offensive on Bakhmut, and Ukraine is trying to repulse the attacks. Russian troops continue to intensify their offensive in the area of ​​Bakhmut, and Ukrainian forces are trying to repel ongoing attacks near this key city in the east of the country and in the surrounding areas of Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported late on Thursday. – evening update, CNN reports.
• “Discrediting the army”: a Russian politician was tried for listening to Putin’s speech with spaghetti in his ears. A regional Russian politician will appear in court next week to answer charges of defaming the armed forces after releasing a video of him listening to President Vladimir Putin’s address to the nation with spaghetti in his ear, Reuters reports.
• Who are the “Ukrainian terrorists” accused by Putin? Russians in tracksuits criticize the regime. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday condemned the “terrorist” attack after Moscow reported an incursion by Ukrainian “saboteurs” into a region in southwestern Russia on the border with Ukraine, which Kyiv denied, writes AFP.
• Russia would also lose the 2S4 “Tulip” heavy mortar — the fifth instance that the Ukrainians would have managed to destroy. The 2C4 “Tulip” is a heavy self-propelled tracked 240 mm mortar, which has practically significantly more firepower than conventional mortars or 152/155 mm artillery guns commonly used by the Russian army.

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Thursday’s war coverage was live on HotNews.ro