Ukrainians say they have managed to thwart Vladimir Putin’s forces in their attempt to encircle the town of Bakhmut, but the situation in this battle, the bloodiest of the war, remains “very difficult”.

The latest on the war in Ukraine, day 380, LIVETEXT:

08:02 The USA and its international partners have seized Russian assets worth more than 58 billion dollars, Kyiv Independent notes.

The multi-stakeholder Working Group on Russian Elites, Insiders and Oligarchs (REPO) announced on Thursday that they have frozen more than $58 billion in Russian assets effective February 24, 2022.

00:57 Ukrainian air defense systems “insufficiently cope” with Russian hypersonic missiles

00:18 The leader of Transnistria appeared on television to talk about the alleged attack in Tiraspol / Kyiv ridicules him, Kishinev denies

A brief summary of recent events:

• The Ukrainian army prevented Russian troops from encircling Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, but the situation on the battlefield in the area remains “very difficult,” the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Sirsky, said on Thursday.
• CIA Director William Burns noted that the Russian war could change China’s plans for Taiwan. He noted that “no one has watched more closely” what is happening in Ukraine than Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• Russia is “in the near future” planning a “large-scale provocation” on the border between Belarus and Ukraine, which could lead to the destruction of infrastructure and an increase in civilian casualties, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported.
• Russia said its forces launched a “massive attack” on Ukrainian infrastructure “in response” to what it said was a terrorist attack in Russia’s Bryansk region last week.
• The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reconnected to Ukraine’s power grid after it was cut off by airstrikes.
• According to Russian news agencies, the special services of the separatist Transnistrian region said that they prevented a Ukrainian attempt on the leader of the region. Who is the “terrorist” who, according to the separatists, wanted to kill the leader of Transnistria on the orders of Kyiv
• Moscow said that the agreement on the export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports was only “half” implemented, raising doubts about the possibility of extending the agreement, which expires next week.
• Russia has introduced personal sanctions against 144 government officials, journalists, deputies and other public figures in the three Baltic states, who are considered “most hostile” to Moscow.
• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that he does not see a desire on the part of Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
• Ukraine will take part in the European Union’s joint program for the purchase of gas on world markets in order to purchase 2 billion cubic meters of fuel by next winter, the EU’s top representative for energy policy said.
• Turkey has acknowledged that Sweden and Finland have taken concrete steps to address Ankara’s concerns about their NATO bids, and the three countries will hold new rounds of talks.
• Leonid Volkov, a top adviser to Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny, said on Thursday he was stepping down as head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation following calls from the European Union to lift sanctions against one of Russia’s richest men.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s request to speak at the 2023 Oscars has been turned down after he received a negative response last year.
• Through the company “Gazprom”, the Kremlin will try to create a new armed formation under the control of the Russian government, announced as a volunteer. The company would offer twice the salary of the Wagner Group.
• A compromise solution? A new signal that Ukraine can receive fighter jets from NATO countries.

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