Russia has lost the geopolitical war / Ukraine announces the first victory of the counteroffensive / Over 150,000 Russians are preparing in the trenches to defend their positions

UPDATE 14:20 EU: China plays a role, Xi has influence on Putin

“For us, anyone who signed the UN Charter respects the principle of territorial integrity. There is an attacker and a victim, it is clear. We hope that China can play a positive role in Moscow’s implementation of the UN Charter.” This was stated by the President of the EU Council, Charles Michel, at a press conference, when he answered a question regarding Beijing’s sending of a special representative to Ukraine and Russia. “It’s good that, after 14 months, Xi Jinping called President Zelenska because she has influence over President Putin,” added Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

UPDATE 14:10 Council of Churches in Ukraine: intimidation in the occupied territories

The situation of religious communities in the context of Russian aggression was discussed during a meeting in Kiev between representatives of the Council of Churches in Ukraine and religious organizations and a delegation of the World Council of Churches. “Religious freedom is respected in Ukraine and there is no religious persecution during the war. However, the situation of believers in the territories of Ukraine occupied by the Russians as a result of the armed aggression remains extremely dangerous. Terror against civilians, especially religious leaders, is a widespread tactic of intimidation and subjugation by the Russian occupation authorities. We hope that the voice of the CMB will be heard at the international level in defense of the believers who suffer daily due to the presence of the Russian occupiers on Ukrainian soil”, said Bishop Viachieslav Horpinciuk, president of the Council of Churches in Ukraine.

UPDATE 14:00 Kiev services: 152,000 Russians are preparing for defense in the south

About 152,000 Russian troops are now concentrated in the occupied Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, and their actions indicate that they are preparing to defend themselves. This was supported by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s intelligence representative, Andri Cherniak, stressing that “at the moment, we are not registering any withdrawal of troops” in those regions. “There is a certain movement: they take something, they evacuate someone, they try to steal something, but we don’t see a real withdrawal,” Cherniak said, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda. The Russians are strengthening their fortifications and building new ones, he added.

UPDATE 13:40 Stoltenberg: strengthening Kiev is the only way to stop Moscow

The only way to stop Russia is “to make sure that Ukraine has the military power to defend itself against invasion,” said NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, speaking via video link to Copenhagen, where the meeting of the Alliance of Democracies foundation is taking place. In a conversation with the founder of the alliance and Stoltenberg’s predecessor at NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Stoltenberg spoke about the importance of the next NATO summit, scheduled in Vilnius, next July.

UPDATE 13:30 Peskov, about the Prigojin case

“A hoax”. Thus, the Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, commented on the news from the Washington Post, according to which the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, would have provided the Ukrainian army with information on where to attack Russian positions, if the army in Kiev was withdrawing from areas around the besieged city of Bahmut. “I can’t comment, but it looks like another hoax,” Peskov was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency.

UPDATE 13:00 The crater left by a Russian bombardment in Dnipro

The crater left by a Russian missile attack on the city of Dnipro, in eastern Ukraine. The Kyiv Independent online newspaper, citing Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Governor Valentin Reznicenko, reported that rockets that hit a residential building in Dnipro killed at least 14 people, including a 15-year-old boy. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed Russia’s “heavy missile attack on Ukrainian cities” in a statement. “In the city of Dnipro, a residential building was destroyed by a Russian attack,” he said. On the 9th, they were destroyed in an explosion of Russian rockets”.

UPDATE 12:40 In July, NATO will receive Ukraine’s application for membership

“It’s time to remove the biggest uncertainty regarding security in Europe, that is, to approve a positive political decision on joining NATO”: thus Ukrainian President Zelensky, in a video speech at the Copenhagen democracy summit. “It is already worth doing at the summit in July. This will be a timely signal,” Zelensky said.

UPDATE 12:00 Mayor of London: it is important to support a brave people

“The people are fighting bravely against Putin’s forces and it is really important that not only our Prime Minister but also President Macron and our European allies offer continued support to the brave people of Ukraine.” The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said this to Sky News, on the occasion of the visit of the Ukrainian president to the capital of Great Britain. “I think it’s important to show our solidarity,” Khan added, recalling that “many Ukrainian women and children are in London. And it is very important to open our doors to Ukrainians”. Referring to Eurovision, hosted by the UK on behalf of Ukraine – which won the 2022 edition, he said: “We had a lot of fun on Saturday. But let’s not forget the difficult situation in Ukraine”.

UPDATE 11:00 The forces from Kiev: the first success in the Bahmut offensive

The Ukrainian army speaks of a “first success” in the offensive in the Bahmut area, in eastern Ukraine. The “advance of troops in the direction of Bahmut” is the “first success of the offensive” in the defense of this city, which the Russians have been trying to capture for months, according to the commander of the ground forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Sirski. This was announced by the Ministry of Defense in Kiev. “The last days have shown that we can advance and destroy the enemy, even in such difficult conditions. We are fighting with fewer resources than the enemy,” Sirski said, according to the Military Media Center. “However, we manage to spoil his plans”, he added. According to the colonel-general, “it is only a partial success” and “the defense operation of Bahmut continues”.

UPDATE 10:30 London: hundreds of missiles and drones for air defense in Kiev

“Today the Prime Minister (No – Rishi Sunak) will confirm the UK’s further delivery of hundreds of air defense missiles and other unmanned aerial systems, including hundreds of new long-range attack drones with a range of action over 200 km”, says a Downing Street press release confirming the meeting in London between Sunak and Ukrainian President Zelenski. “All of this will be delivered in the coming months as Ukraine prepares to step up its resistance to the ongoing Russian invasion.”

UPDATE 09:00 Summary of the situation on the front

The frontline towns of Bahmut and Marinka “remain at the epicenter of hostilities,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a daily morning update. Over the past 24 hours, Russian forces have launched airstrikes, along with missiles, drones and heavy missiles, on targets in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on Sunday that two of his military commanders were killed in eastern Ukraine as forces from Kiev renewed their efforts to break through Russian positions in the town of Bahmut.

UPDATE 08:00 The Washington Post: a trădat Prigojin?

At the end of January, the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, provided Ukraine with information about the positioning of Russian troops so that it could strike them in exchange for the withdrawal of Kiev soldiers from the area around Bahmut. This is what emerges from the Pentagon leaks reported by the Washington Post. Prigozhin had made the proposal through his contacts in the military intelligence services in Kiev. Contacts confirmed, the American newspaper adds, by two Ukrainian officials, according to which Prigozhin spoke with the military intelligence service (HUR) of the government in Kiev on various occasions.

UPDATE 07:00 Zelenski was at the Elysée, Macron welcomed him with a working dinner

The Ukrainian president was last night at the Elysée, where the French head of state Emmanuel Macron received him in the courtyard of the presidential palace. The two then went to the salons of the Elysée where they talked about the situation in Ukraine and the “urgent humanitarian and military needs” of Kiev during a working dinner.

UPDATE 06:00 A counteroffensive is already in Bahmut, 16 square kilometers were retaken in three days

Ukrainian counter-offensive begins at Bakhmut. The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak clearly speaks about the Ukrainian successes in the city of Donetsk as a “prelude” to the liberation of all the territories occupied by the Russians, also based on the good news from the front: after liberating more than 16 square kilometers of territory in 3 days of counterattacks – a figure of the American think-tank Isw. In the last day, the Kiev army has recaptured more than ten positions in the northern and southern suburbs of the city. And its advance on Bakhmut continues, taking prisoners amid “fierce battles,” according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar. The front then moves to the east, while Ukrainian President Zelensky continues his tour of Europe precisely to collect that support – mostly military – to ensure the success of the maneuvers of his soldiers.

UPDATE 05:00 Podoliak: Bahmut is the prelude to the counteroffensive

To Bahmut, “Ukraine has taken the initiative. This does not mean that it will be freed tomorrow. But the heavy fighting will continue” and “in a broader sense, Bahmut is the prelude to a counter-offensive. It is the door that opens the possibility for all”. This stated Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak in an interview with Bild.

UPDATE 04:00 Kiev captured more than 10 enemy positions in the suburbs of Bahmut

“Today, our units captured more than ten enemy positions north and south of the suburbs of Bakhmut and cleared a large area of ​​forest near Ivanivske.” This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Malyar, in a message on his Telegram channel yesterday, UNIAN reported. “Enemy soldiers from several units have been captured,” Malyar adds in the message.

UPDATE 03:00 Macron: Russia has geopolitically lost the war

Russia has “already geopolitically lost” the war in Ukraine. This was stated in an interview with the newspaper L’Opinion by French President Emmanuel Macron, referring to Moscow’s relations with its traditional allies, such as China, and the entry into NATO of Sweden and Finland.