Having withstood the furious winter attack of the Russians, Ukrainian army will soon launch its long-awaited counter-offensive to add new areas to the chain of successful liberation operations that began with Kyiv and continued Kharkiv And Kherson. Such an optimistic picture was given by the commander of the Ground Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Sirksi.

In statements on social media, a Ukrainian official said the months-long effort by the Russian Wagner mercenary army to seize the city was “significantly weakening and showing signs of exhaustion.” Bahamut in the eastern province Donetsk. “Very soon we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we have done in the past near Kiev, Kharkov, Balakliya and Kupyansk,” places of successful Ukrainian counterattacks in previous months.

International media outlets with war correspondents in the region confirm the sense that the Russian offensive in Bahamut has weakened over the past 24 hours. At the beginning of the week, Wagner’s head, Evgeny Prigozhinappeared alarmed, warning Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that his men could be cut off from regular army forces in the event of a Ukrainian counterattack.

A possible Russian defeat at Bakhmut would have serious implications for the morale of both armies, as the battle for control of the city – the longest and deadliest in Europe since World War II – assumed great symbolic significance, commensurate with the large number of calculated casualties. by both sides. However, the British Ministry of Defense warned that the threat of encirclement of Ukrainian forces by the Russians remained. Moreover, in his latest assessment of the course of hostilities, he emphasized that in recent days the Russians have achieved success in other sectors of the front, north and south of Bahamut.

Meanwhile, a warning from Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian president and current deputy chairman of the National Security Council under Vladimir Putinthat if any country tries to arrest the President of Russia on a warrant from the International Criminal Court, it will face a military attack from Moscow.

Medvedev says that any country that tries to arrest Putin will be attacked by Russia.

“Let’s imagine that the head of a nuclear power visits Germany and is arrested. This would be a declaration of war. In this case, our weapons systems will take off to hit the German parliament, the office of the chancellor, and so on,” Medvedev said. His tough stance was prompted by German Justice Minister Marco Bussmann’s announcement that his government would arrest Putin if he visited Germany, which he is obligated to do as a signatory to the International Criminal Court treaty.

Borrell convicted

Medvedev’s statements were condemned by EU Foreign Policy Representative Josep Borrell as an “illegal threat” directed against the Court and its host country, the Netherlands. For his part, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s chief of staff said his country would not arrest Putin if he arrived, and that such decisions, such as issuing a warrant against the Russian president, “are not very appropriate as they lead to further escalation.” . “”.

In other statements, Dmitry Medvedev, who had a moderate profile when he was president but turned into a “hawk” with the start of the Russian invasion, directly challenged Ukraine’s national sovereignty. “To be honest, Ukraine is part of Russia. Geopolitical reasons and the course of history have forced us to live separately and recognize artificial borders,” he said.