Live blog: Wagner boasts Russian fighters near central Bakhmut
Russia continues its push to take Ukraine's eastern Donbass region with the fierce battle for the key city of Bakhmut growing increasingly deadly as fighting enters its 381st day.
Wagner has been spearheading offensives against cities in eastern Ukraine including Bakhmut, in what has become the longest and bloodiest fight of Russia's year-long assault. Both sides have suffered heavy losses around Bakhmut.
Saturday, March 11, 2023
The chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner has said in a clip that his forces are close to the centre of the frontline hotspot of Bakhmut.
In a video posted on messaging app Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen standing on a roof of a high-rise building in what is said to be Bakhmut.
"This is the building of the town administration, this is the centre of the town," Prigozin said in the video, pointing towards a building in the distance.
He said that the most important thing now was to receive ammunition and "move forward", as Russia tries to wrestle the region from Ukraine.
According to reports, the Russian advance is being met with fierce resistance, and the latest UK intelligence estimate say it would cost heavily on the Wagner Group.
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1553 GMT — An anti-government protest in Czech capital draws thousands
Thousands of people in the Czech Republic have rallied against the government, protesting high inflation and demanding an end to the country's military support for Ukraine.
A new political group, PRO, organised the rally at Prague's Wenceslas Square as an anti-poverty event. As participants called on the coalition government to resign, party leader Jindrich Rajchl said they want “a government to care first of all about the interests of the Czech citizens.”
Ukraine was a key issue at Saturday's demonstration, where the crowd called for a peaceful solution to the war. Some people had the letter “Z,” a symbol of the Russian military, on their bags.
The Czech Republic has staunchly supported the government in Kiev since Russian troops began attacks on Ukraine. The country has provided weapons for the Ukrainian military and taken in a half-million refugees.
Ukraine was a key issue at Saturday's demonstration, where the crowd called for a peaceful solution to the war.
1544 GMT — First batch of Leopard 1 tanks could arrive in Ukraine this spring
The first batch of Leopard 1 tanks could arrive in Ukraine this spring, Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen has said.
Poulsen told reporters in Copenhagen that he visited the Flensburger Fahrzeugbau Gesellschaft company's production facilities "to make sure that the work on the preparation of Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine is progressing."
The minister added that he is "proud" of the "great and important donation" of Denmark and other countries for the sake of "Ukraine's struggle for its freedom."
Poulsen said he expects that the Ukrainian armed forces will receive the first 80 tanks by the end of spring, which will be used for fighting and for training Ukrainian tankers.
1500 GMT — Head of Wagner paramilitary group says he intends to run for president in Ukraine
Prigozhin has said that he intends to run for president of Ukraine in 2024.
"I'm making a political coming out. Looking at everything around me, I've got political ambitions. I decided to run for president in 2024. For President of Ukraine," Prigozhin said in a video, posted on Telegram.
Prigozhin said he expects to compete for this post with former President Petro Poroshenko and incumbent Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
1347 GMT — UK urges Olympic sponsors to back ban on Russian athletes
Britain has called on Olympic sponsors including Coca-Cola and Samsung to support a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes competing at next year's summer games in Paris.
London hopes that pressure from sponsors will sway the International Olympic Committee (IOC), with a year and a half to go until the Paris 2024 games.
"We know sport and politics in Russia and Belarus are heavily intertwined, and we are determined that the regimes in Russia and Belarus must not be allowed to use sport for their propaganda purposes," the government said in a letter to the heads of the IOC's 13 official global partners.
"As an Olympic Partner, I would welcome your views on this matter and ask you to join us in pressing the IOC to address the concerns raised in our statement," it added.
1242 GMT — Ukrainian gunships rain rockets on Russian targets near Bakhmut
Three Mi-8 helicopter gunships rise up from a secret base in Ukraine and head at low altitude for the long-running battle for Bakhmut against Russian forces.
As the eastern city nears, one by one the helicopters suddenly rear up, unleash their rockets, bank sharply and return to base, skimming the ground.
The target is "an enemy fortification line made up of troops on the ground, armoured vehicles and a munitions depot," pilot Petro tells AFP news agency after the 30-minute mission.
The fortification lies near Severodonetsk, which the Russian army seized last spring, to the northeast of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian soldiers are almost encircled but still holding out amid heavy losses on both sides.
1224 GMT — Bakhmut becomes 'killing zone' as Russians push to take city: UK
The UK's Ministry of Defence has released its latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, saying that over the last four days, Wagner Group forces have taken control of most of the eastern part of the strategic Donbass city of Bakhmut.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian units are able to fire from fortified buildings to the west, and the area has become a "killing zone", making it highly challenging for Wagner forces attempting to continue their frontal assault westwards.
However, the Ukrainian force and their supply lines to the west remain vulnerable to the continued Russian attempts to outflank the defenders from the north and south, it added.
1211 GMT — Russian shells kill three in Kherson: officials
A Russian strike on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson has left three people dead and two others wounded.
"Russian terrorists are shelling Kherson again," Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, said on messaging app Telegram. He posted a picture of firefighters next to a charred car.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Kherson's regional military administration, said the casualties occurred when a car was hit by a shell and caught fire.
The UK's Ministry of Defence has released its latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine, saying that over the last four days, Wagner Group forces have taken control of most of the eastern part of the strategic Donbass city of Bakhmut.
According to the ministry, Ukrainian units are able to fire from fortified buildings to the west, and the area has become a "killing zone", making it highly challenging for Wagner forces attempting to continue their frontal assault westwards.
However, the Ukrainian force and their supply lines to the west remain vulnerable to the continued Russian attempts to outflank the defenders from the north and south, it added.
0056 GMT — Biden advisor warns Georgia against helping Russia dodge sanctions
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili have discussed plans to ensure Russia feels the economic costs of sanctions placed over the offensive in Ukraine, the White House press service said in a statement.
According to the readout of the meeting, "Sullivan underscored the need for Georgia to avoid becoming an avenue for evasion or backfill".
Moscow on Friday accused foreign countries of inciting mass protests in Georgia, likening them to an attempted coup designed to sow tension on Russia's borders.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that several days of demonstrations in the Georgian capital Tbilisi reminded him of the Ukrainian uprising that ousted a Kremlin-friendly government in 2014.
For our live updates from Friday (March 10), click here.
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