Will Bakhmout hold? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Monday February 27 that the situation of his troops around this town in the east of the country was becoming “more and more complicated”. “The enemy systematically destroys everything that can be used to protect our positions,” he said in his daily message, calling the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in this battle “true heroes”.
In addition, Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov sees “no sign” that China is going to deliver arms to Russia, he said in an interview broadcast Monday by Voice of America radio. America, contrary to the accusations of the Americans, including the head of the CIA.
The American Secretary of State Antony Blinken also arrived in Kazakhstan overnight from Monday to Tuesday, as part of a tour intended to strengthen the footprint of the United States in the ex-Soviet republics, caught between their powerful Russian neighbor and the growing influence of China.
Ukrainian intelligence chief doesn’t see China delivering weapons to Russia
“I do not share this opinion,” Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview broadcast Monday by Voice of America radio, referring to US accusations – firmly denied by Beijing – that China is planning to supply weapons to Russia to help in its offensive against Ukraine. “At the moment, I don’t think China will agree to transfer weapons to Russia…I don’t see any signs of such things even being discussed,” he said.
Relaunched by Voice of America on the American accusations, Kyrylo Boudanov replied: “I am the head of the intelligence services and I base myself, with all due respect, not on the opinions of individual people, but only on facts. I don’t see any such facts”. These accusations were notably launched by the director of the CIA William Burns in an interview broadcast by the CBS channel on Sunday evening. “We are convinced of the fact that the Chinese leaders plan to supply lethal material” to Russia, William Burns declared.
Iran is “virtually the only country that transfers more or less serious weapons to Russia”, added Kyrylo Budanov. “There was information that something came from North Korea, but we don’t have confirmation. There is not a single case where we registered a weapon here from North Korea,” he said. he continued. “Russia is just trying to buy anything anywhere. Because their problems are important,” said the Ukrainian intelligence chief, however.
Situation “increasingly complicated” around Bakhmout
“The situation is getting more and more complicated,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily message. “The enemy systematically destroys everything that can be used to protect our positions,” he added, calling the Ukrainian soldiers engaged in this battle “true heroes”. Since the summer, troops from Moscow have been trying to take the city of Bakhmout, of disputed strategic importance but which has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine.
In remarks broadcast Monday by Russian television, the head of the Donetsk region (eastern Ukraine) appointed by Moscow, Denis Pushilin, assured that all the access roads to the fortress city of Bakhmout are “within range of arms “pro-Russian forces. Russian forces have been trying for several weeks to encircle Bakhmout and have succeeded in cutting off several important supply routes for Ukrainian troops. The boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgueni Prigojine, claimed responsibility last Saturday for the capture by his men of the village of Yaguidné, located on the northern outskirts of Bakhmout.
NATO: Finland takes another step to join without Sweden
Voting in advance to enter as quickly as possible: Finland begins its final debate in Parliament on Tuesday on NATO membership, without waiting for the last “yes” imperatives from Turkey and Hungary. With elections in sight on April 2 for the government of outgoing Prime Minister Sanna Marin, Helsinki wants to avoid any political vacuum in order to be able to jump on the NATO bandwagon, once the agreement of Ankara and Budapest has been gleaned. Including, if necessary, without waiting for neighboring Sweden, also a candidate since last year but currently facing a Turkish veto.
The 200 members of the Finnish Parliament, the Eduskunta, are due to begin their debates on Tuesday on the NATO membership bill, with a vote expected by Wednesday. Their debate coincides with the visit to Finland by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for meetings with the main leaders of the Nordic country of 5.5 million inhabitants.
With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland and Sweden decided to turn the page on their policy of military non-alignment in force since the 1990s, itself inherited from decades of forced or chosen neutrality, by applying to NATO in mid-May 2022. Twenty-eight of the 30 members of the alliance, including its American figurehead, have already ratified the entry of the two Nordic countries.
Blinken shows its support for the independence of Kazakhstan, an ally of Moscow
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday showed his support for the territorial integrity and independence of Kazakhstan during his first visit to this gigantic Central Asian country, an ally of Russia and close to China, a few days after the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. During his visit, the head of American diplomacy must meet his counterparts from the five former Soviet republics of Central Asia in the Kazakh capital, Astana.
Antony Blinken will also have a meeting during the day with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, then will travel to Uzbekistan. His tour aims to strengthen the footprint of the United States in this region caught between the powerful Russian neighbor and the growing influence of China. “As you know, the United States strongly supports Kazakhstan’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” the US Secretary of State told Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tleouberdi. “In this particular time, these words have even more resonance than usual,” added Antony Blinken, referring to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and while Kazakhstan shares some 7,500 kilometers of border with the Russia.
Antony Blinken assured that the United States was “determined to strengthen” its relations with Kazakhstan, a country which has been able since the fall of the Soviet Union to promote multi-vector diplomacy, according to the official terminology, forging alliances with different partners despite the overwhelming influence of Moscow.