Her deep concern about the situation in the besieged city Bahamuton its eastern edge DonetskUkrainian political and military leadership expresses how Russian army ramps up his attacks, anticipating his first success in six months.

“The situation is getting more and more complicated,” said Mr. Vladimir Zelensky, adding that the Russians are “destroying everything we could use to support our defensive positions.” The President of Ukraine repeated his call for the US and other allies of his country to send combat aircraft so that the armed forces can drive out the invaders. The “extremely tense” situation in Bakhmut was described by the commander of the Ukrainian forces in the region, Lieutenant General Alexander Shirsky, who said that the Russian mercenary company of Wagner, despite having suffered heavy losses, continues to transfer elite units in his attempt to crush the city.

agency war correspondent Reuters reported that until yesterday there were no signs of the Ukrainians retreating from Bakhmut. However, the Russian cordon is narrowing day by day, and the Ukrainians risk losing control of their last supply route, leaving them in a dilemma: retreat or surrender. Although Bakhmut is a relatively small town – it had a population of 70,000 before the war – its fall to the Russians would make Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, the two main urban centers of the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control, more vulnerable.

In Moscow, Vladimir Putin spoke with the FSB special services and urged them to intensify their activities to intercept “saboteurs” arriving from Ukraine, protect the country’s political infrastructure and counterintelligence from the West. “Western intelligence agencies have always worked intensively in Russia, and today they have thrown additional personnel and equipment into battle. We must act accordingly,” he said during his speech.

The Russian president’s warnings came after a very turbulent night during which parts of Russia near the border with Ukraine, as well as at greater geographic depths, were attacked by drones without loss of life or significant damage. In one case, a drone aimed at a gas station crashed just 110 kilometers from Moscow. Air traffic in St. Petersburg was disrupted for several hours, although it is not clear if this is due to drone attacks.

Meanwhile, Anthony Blinken met with Central Asian leaders yesterday in the Kazakh capital of Astana, expressing US interest in former Soviet republics that have traditionally been part of Russia’s sphere of influence. The US Secretary of State confirmed that China plans to supply military equipment to Russia and warned that if it does, Chinese companies will be targeted by US sanctions.

However, the head of Ukrainian intelligence, Kirill Budanov, said he saw “no sign” of imminent shipments of Chinese weapons or ammunition to Russia. “I don’t see any signs that this is being discussed at all,” Budanov told the Voice of America radio station. Last Friday, China unveiled a 12-point peace proposal in Ukraine that Kyiv initially welcomed. In fact, Zelensky expressed a desire to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping and discuss the Chinese proposal with him. Russia’s readiness to enter into peace talks yesterday was expressed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, insisting, however, that the new “territorial realities” in Ukraine must be respected.

NATO pressure in favor of OK

Yesterday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated an appeal to Ankara and Budapest to ratify the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO as soon as possible. NATO Jens Stoltenberg. “I’ve been saying for some time now that it’s time to complete the accession process,” the Helsinki-based head of the Atlantic Alliance said during a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin. Marin stressed that prolonging the stalemate threatened to undermine the credibility of NATO and its continued policy of “open doors” for new countries to join. The Hungarian parliament is expected to ratify the accession of the two Nordic countries in March, while the Erdogan government is leaning towards approving only Finland’s bid, not (yet) Sweden’s. Elsewhere in his statements, Jens Stoltenberg assessed that Ukraine would someday become a member of NATO, but emphasized that this was a “long-term perspective.” The main thing, according to Ph.D. The alliance “is to ensure that Ukraine remains an independent and sovereign state” and “find a framework that ensures that Putin and Russia do not invade” the country again.