During his daily address to the nation on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky put an end to rumors about a potential abandonment of Bakhmout by his troops. On the contrary, he ordered the Ukrainian army to strengthen the defense of the city of Bakhmout, the epicenter of the fighting in the east of the country, refuting speculation of a withdrawal in the face of Russian troops who have been trying for months to encircle this city symbol.
Like Germany, the Czech Republic has asked Switzerland for old Leopard 2 tanks, which are currently in storage in the Alpine country, Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd revealed on Monday.
Beijing warns the United States of a risk of conflict
The Chinese government on Tuesday (March 7) blamed the United States for the growing tensions between the world’s two largest economic powers, warning of a risk of “conflict and confrontation” if Washington does not change the trajectory in which it is engaged. “Western countries, led by the United States, have implemented a policy of containment, encirclement and suppression against China, which has brought unprecedented challenges to our country’s development,” he said. Xi Jinping according to an account by the New China News Agency published on Monday evening.
China-US relations hit a particularly tense period last month, after a Chinese balloon was shot down by the US military on suspicion of spying on US military installations. The case forced US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to postpone a visit to China that would have helped defuse sensitive issues such as China’s stance on the war in Ukraine, technology competition and the Taiwan question.
The Czech Republic also wants old Swiss Leopard 2s
“We had a request from Germany and since then we also have a request from the Czech Republic,” Swiss Defense Minister Viola Amherd told state television SRF. “We have not discussed the purchase of tanks from Switzerland, but if Switzerland wanted to give us its Leopard 2s as a reward for our help to Ukraine, we would certainly not be against it,” the spokesman said. Czech Defense Minister David Jares interviewed by AFP.
Once the needs of Switzerland have been met to ensure its defense “there will be a certain number of tanks which we will not need and which we can make available if the Parliament declares them out of service”, explained Viola Amherd in her interview. However, it did not give any details on Prague’s request and in particular the number of tanks requested by the Czech Republic. At the end of February, Germany had asked the minister “to approve” the takeover by the German defense group Rheinmetall of Leopard 2 battle tanks from the Swiss army which are currently decommissioned and stored in secret. As Switzerland prohibits in the name of its neutrality the transfer of military equipment to a country at war, Berlin assured him that the tanks would not be re-exported to Ukraine, according to the ministry. The same rule should apply to the request of the Czech Republic.
The maintenance of Swiss tanks “in Germany or with NATO and EU partners would be guaranteed” to fill the gaps created by the handover of the Leopard 2 tanks ceded by these countries to Ukraine and to improve the supply of spare parts, had specified the Swiss Ministry of Defense at the time of the announcement of the German request.
Ukraine to send reinforcements to Bakhmout
“I told the general staff to find the appropriate forces to help the guys in Bakhmut,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video message Monday evening, reaffirming “that no part of Ukraine can be abandoned “to Russia. While rumors of a tactical withdrawal had been swirling for a week, the Ukrainian presidency had previously indicated that the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces had “pronounced themselves in favor of the continuation of the defensive operation and a reinforcement of (their) positions in Bakhmout”, during a meeting with the Head of State.
A city of some 70,000 inhabitants before the war, Bakhmout has become, because of the length of the battle and the heavy losses suffered by both sides, the symbol of the struggle between Russians and Ukrainians for control of the industrial region of Donbass . Russian troops have advanced in recent weeks north and south of the city, cutting off three of Ukraine’s four supply routes and leaving only the one leading further west to Chassiv Iar as an exit route.
kyiv calls for an investigation after the alleged execution of a prisoner of war
The head of Ukrainian diplomacy on Monday called for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) after the broadcast of a video showing, according to him, a Ukrainian prisoner of war executed by Russian soldiers. These images were also mentioned by President Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video speech, in which he promised to “find the murderers”.
“Horrible video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW being executed by Russian forces for simply saying ‘Glory to Ukraine’. Further proof that this war is genocidal,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kouleba commented on Twitter. “It is imperative that (ICC Prosecutor) Karim Khan launch an immediate investigation into this heinous war crime,” he added: “The perpetrators of these acts must be brought to justice.” Agence France Presse could not independently verify where and when the footage was taken, or whether it showed, as claimed by Ukrainian officials and social media users, a Ukrainian prisoner of war.