As Russia pounds Bakhmut, Kyiv military may pull back

Kyiv, March 1

Russian forces carried out relentless attacks on Bakhmut on Wednesday, trying to encircle the small eastern Ukrainian city and claim their first major prize for more than half a year after some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Ukrainian forces are fiercely resisting a Russian attempt to seize the small city of Bakhmut and are throwing massive extra reserves into the bloody battle, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force, said.

At the same time, Alexander Rodnyansky, an economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukraine’s military could pull back from the key eastern stronghold of Bakhmut. “Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back,” Rodnyansky said.

“We’re not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing.” The battle for Bakhmut, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance as defenders hold out against relentless shelling and waves of Russian troops taking heavy casualties in a months-long campaign to capture it.

Rodnyansky noted that Russia was using the best troops of the Wagner Group, a private military company led by a rogue millionaire with longtime links to Russian President Vladimir Putin, to encircle Bakhmut. Recent drone footage shows the scale of devastation in the city, while Zelenskyy has described it as “destroyed.”

Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow would not review its suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty until the US changed its policy on Ukraine, Interfax reported. — Agencies

‘Won’t rejoin n-treaty until US changes stance’

• Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says Moscow will not review its suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty until the United States changed its policy on Ukraine
• Vladimir Putin last week announced Moscow’s suspension of its participation in the deal, accusing the United States of trying to inflict a “strategic defeat” on Russia

China, Belarus call for ceasefire, dialogue

• China President Xi Jinping and Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus called for a ceasefire and negotiations to bring about a political settlement to the Ukraine conflict.
• After both leaders met, Xi stated that the core of China’s stance was to call for peace and encourage talks. The security concerns of all be respected, he added.