New information verified by U.S. officials suggests that a pro-Ukraine group is responsible for the explosions that shut down the Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea last year, but there is no evidence that the Kyiv government was involved, the New York Times reports. On the battlefield, Ukrainian troops repelled attacks on Bakhmut and Ivanivske, at the entrance to the city in the west, as well as on Klishchiivka in the south, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the capture of Bakhmut would allow Moscow’s forces to conduct other offensive operations deep into the country, while Kyiv vowed to continue to defend the city.

08:06The Defense Ministry of Belarus has been tasked with developing a new military doctrine to respond to “escalating global political tensions”, Russian news agencies reported on Tuesday evening, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

07:56 Russia “does not have the ability to use the tactical capture of Bakhmut to create an operational effect,” analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said in an assessment published Wednesday.

According to ISW, Russian forces may also lack the “mechanized forces necessary to advance beyond Bakhmut”, adding that the “tactical assault units” used in the battle for Bakhmut are likely “not capable of maneuver warfare”.

The American think tank noted that the increase in the number of casualties among Russian troops, as well as “the transfer of the structure of Russian forces to small assault units” could hinder the advance of Russian troops in the event that they capture Bakhmut.

07:49Wagner’s mercenary group has taken full control of the city of Bakhmut in the east of the country, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the paramilitary group, said on Wednesday, Reuters reports. It was not possible to verify the information.

07:31Russian forces will have an “open path” to capture key cities in eastern Ukraine if they take control of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned in an interview with CNN, defending his decision to keep Ukrainian forces in the besieged city.

A brief summary of recent events:

• Zelenskyi reports that the famous and valuable Ukrainian soldier “Da Vinci” died in Bakhmut: “Ukraine always remembers its heroes.” Famous Ukrainian fighter Dmytro Kotsyubailo, known as “Da Vinci”, died in the battles near Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in his speech on Tuesday evening, citing that heroes will not be forgotten.
• Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces General Valery Zaluzhnyi discussed the situation in Bakhmut with the US and NATO military leadership
• The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, in an interview with the American TV channel CNN, explained why the Ukrainian army continues to resist Bakhmut and refuses to retreat. If Russian troops take control of Bakhmut, Russian troops will have a “free way” to conquer other cities of Ukraine, Zelensky warned.
• Kyiv declares that it is “absolutely not involved” in the attacks on Nord Stream / How Russia reacted to the New York Times information. Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Presidential Administration in Kyiv, said on Tuesday that Kyiv was “absolutely not involved” in last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipeline and has no information about what happened.
• USA on the shooting of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier: barbarism. The US State Department is aware of a “horrifying video” of the execution of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier believed to be held captive in Russia, spokesman Ned Price said Tuesday, according to CNN.
• In Kyiv, hundreds of people paid their respects to the “saboteurs” who died in Russia. Several hundred people attended the funeral of volunteer fighters killed in a “sabotage” mission in Russia on Tuesday in Kyiv, amid several reports of attacks along Russia’s borders in recent months, AFP reported.
• A senior official of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday that thousands of people in Ukraine have suffered horrific complex war-related injuries and are in need of rehabilitation services and equipment.
• It is believed that Russian soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine make and use drugs to relieve stress, one of them said that even the military police do not touch drug addicts.
• Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Russian paramilitary group “Wagner”, estimated on Tuesday that in the city of Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine, surrounded by Russian troops, there are 12 to 20 thousand Ukrainian soldiers who are fiercely resisting the Russian troops. Fierce battles are raging there “day and night”, “Ukrainians are not running away”, says Prigozhin.

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Tuesday’s events were broadcast live on HotNews.ro