Ukraine news – live: Russia’s Wagner chief warns war frontline ‘will collapse’ amid weapons shortage

Ukrainian forces demobilise Russian tanks near Donetsk frontline

Russian mercenary group Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has warned that the whole frontline is at the brink of collapsing if his soldiers are forced to retreat from Bakhmut amid “ammunition hunger”.

The mercenary group boss said that his forces fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Bakhmut are now being deprived of arms and ammunition to carry on in the battle.

“If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said over the weekend, speaking from a bunker-like space.

“The situation will not be sweet for all military formations protecting Russian interests,” he warned.

This comes amid reports that Russian soldiers are likely using “shovels” in hand-to-hand combat because of depleted stock.

The British defence ministry described how in late February Russian troops were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position armed just with “firearms and shovels”.

Russian troops have been facing a severe ammunition shortage, with Prigozhin blaming Russian deaths in Ukraine on the recent shortage.

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Wagner boss says war front line gains, including Bakhmut, at risking of collapsing

Russian mercenary group Wagner’s chief has warned that his forces capturing the entire mining town of Bakhmut were being deprived of arms and ammunition, adding that if they were forced to retreat, the entire front gained in the war so far would collapse.

“If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said over the weekend, speaking from a bunker-like space.

“The situation will not be sweet for all military formations protecting Russian interests,” he warned.

He added that his soldiers are worried that Moscow wanted to set them up as possible scapegoats if Russia lost the war.

“If we retreat, then we will go down in history forever as people who have taken the main step towards losing the war,” the mercenary group’s boss said in a nearly four-minute video.

“This is exactly the problem with ammunition hunger.”

Arpan Rai6 March 2023 03:25

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Death toll up to 13 after Thursday’s rocket

The death toll of an attack on a high rise building on Thursday has now risen to 13 as another person has died.

A rocket hit a five-floor residential block in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine on Thursday.

Anatoliy Kurtiev, secretary of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Council, said on Sunday: “Unfortunately, the number of people who died as a result of the rocket attack on March 2 has already increased to 13. Among them is a very small child.”

Ukrainian authorities said a pregnant woman was among those rescued from the building on Thursday.

A man holding a cat rescued from the building in Zaporizhzhia which was hit by a rocket

(Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Lucy Skoulding6 March 2023 04:00

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Olaf Scholz threatens ‘consequences’ if China sends arms to Russia

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said there would be “consequences” if China decides to aid Russia with weapons for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but added that he is fairly optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so.

“I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious,” the German chancellor said on being asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia.

In the last few weeks, US officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow.

Mr Scholz has already urged Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to press Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

Read the full story here:

Arpan Rai6 March 2023 03:50

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Ukraine vows to defend Bakhmut as Russia claims battle is ‘close to end’

Ukraine has vowed to defend its “fortress” Bakhmut as intense fighting against Russian soldiers continued in the streets this weekend.

Fighting intensified in the fiercely contested city yesterday with a Russian military source claiming the battle was “close to its end”.

Ukrainian military officials said attempts were continuing by Vladimir Putin’s troops to encircle the city.

Read the full story here:

Arpan Rai6 March 2023 03:40

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Russia unhappy with Black Sea grain deal

Russia has said it’s not happy with some aspects of the Black Sea grain deal as Turkey announced it’s “working hard” to extend the initiative.

“If this agreement is equal, then we have always fulfilled our part and are going to fulfill it in all the agreements,” Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

Ms Zakharova added that Russia would be opposing “goading and mechanisms”.

Formed between Turkey and the UN last year, the Black Sea Grain Initiative allowed there to be exports of grain from three ports in Ukraine.

Lucy Skoulding6 March 2023 03:00

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Putin’s troops ‘left to fight with shovels’

Russian troops are likely using shovels for “hand-to-hand” combat in Ukraine because of an ammunition shortage, UK intelligence has said.

In its update on the war on Sunday, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said Vladimir Putin’s troops were ordered to attack a Ukrainian position armed just with “firearms and shovels” late last month.

It said the shovel was an MPL-50 – a tool that was designed in 1869 and has not changed much since. The MoD said it “highlights the brutal and low-tech fighting” that has characterised much of the war.

Katy Clifton6 March 2023 02:30

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ICYMI

A woman and two children were killed in Russian mortar shelling of a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, the head of Ukraine‘s presidential office said on Sunday.

“Mortar shelling of Poniativka village in Kherson region. A private house was hit,” Andriy Yermak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“Russian terrorists continue to kill civilians,” he said, providing no additional details of the attack.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops from the early days of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine until its recapture by Kyiv’s forces in November.

Since its liberation, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro river.

Katy Clifton6 March 2023 01:30

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UK and Germany to fly joint Nato missions in Estonia for first time

British pilots are set to conduct joint air policing missions in Estonia alongside the German air force for the first time.

It comes as the UK prepares take over from Germany to lead the Nato mission in Estonia, which borders Russia.

Royal Air Force and German Air Force Typhoon jets will take part in the first of their kind “integrated” missions, as the Defence Secretary praised the demonstration of Nato “unity”.

The Ministry of Defence said that around 300 RAF personnel will soon arrive in Estonia, with the UK set to lead the Nato air policing mission for four months from April.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has reignited concerns in border states, including Estonia, about Vladmir Putin’s ambitions and his next steps.

Katy Clifton6 March 2023 00:30

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Germany warns of ‘consequences’ if China arms Russia

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said there would be “consequences” if China sent weapons to Russia for Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but said he is fairly optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so. Mr Scholz’s comments came in an interview with CNN that aired Sunday, two days after he met US president Joe Biden in Washington. US officials have warned recently that China could step off the sidelines and begin providing arms and ammunition to Moscow.

Ahead of his trip, Mr Scholz had urged Beijing to refrain from sending weapons and instead use its influence to press Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine. Asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China if it did aid Russia, Mr Scholz replied: “I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I’m relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at (it) and we have to be very, very cautious.”

Katy Clifton5 March 2023 23:30

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Watch: The Body in the Woods trailer

The Independent’s first feature-length documentary The Body in the Woods, about Ukraine’s unprecedented search for its missing and dead, premiered at Kyiv railway station on Saturday.

Audience members who included some of the families featured in the film, described it as a harrowing account of Russian atrocities in the war-ravaged country and the first in depth investigation into the scale of the difficulties Ukrainians face trying to find and identify their dead.

The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary

Maryam Zakir-Hussain5 March 2023 22:30

source: yahoo.com