“Heavy fighting” with Russian forces is underway for the center of Bakhmout, in eastern Ukraine, the commander of Ukrainian ground troops said on Monday, information also confirmed on the Russian side.
Consequence of the conflict in Ukraine: the jump in European arms imports was expected. But it is spectacularly accelerating an upward trend on the Old Continent, a consequence of the rearmament that began several years ago after the annexation of Crimea by Moscow, and which is sharply increasing.
According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) published on Monday March 13, over the last five years (2018-2022), the period favored by Sipri to identify major trends, European imports of arms have increased by 47% compared to the previous five years, while world trade has declined by 5%.
“Heavy fighting for the center of Bakhmout
The Russians “attack from several directions” to “advance towards the central districts”, indicated the commander of Ukrainian ground troops Mr. Syrsky quoted by the press center of the army. “The closer we are to the city center, the harder the fighting,” echoed Evgeny Prigojine, head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
Ukraine becomes third arms destination
Arms imports into Europe have almost doubled in 2022, driven by massive deliveries to Ukraine, which has become the world’s third largest destination, according to this report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute published on Monday. With a surge of 93% over one year, imports have also increased due to the acceleration of military spending by several European states such as Poland and Norway, which should accelerate further, according to this reference study.
“The invasion has really caused a significant surge in the demand for weapons in Europe, which has not yet shown its full power and will in all likelihood lead to further increases in imports by European states”, underlines to AFP Pieter Wezeman, co-author of the annual report for more than three decades.
Ukraine, until last year a negligible arms importer, suddenly became in 2022 the third largest arms destination in the world, behind Qatar and India, a direct consequence of Western aid to repel the Russian invasion. The country alone concentrated 31% of arms imports in Europe and 8% of world trade, according to data from Sipri. kyiv’s imports, including Western donations, have increased more than 60 times in 2022, according to the institute.
HRW concerned about the consequences of the war on Ukrainian orphans
The NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed concern about the consequences of the war on Ukrainian orphans and foster children, calling on Kiev to “urgently” reform its system of care for these children.
“The war meant that many children placed in centers had to shelter in basements during bombardments, without electricity or running water, for weeks”, writes HRW in the preamble of a report published on Monday. According to HRW, “dozens of Ukrainian orphanages have been damaged or destroyed” since the beginning of the Russian invasion more than a year ago and “many children have been evacuated en masse”, inside the Ukraine, but also abroad, primarily to neighboring Poland.
Under these conditions, HRW calls on the Ukrainian government to implement “urgently” the “promised reforms on its institutional system for the care of” orphaned and placed children. The organization thus calls for more and better “monitoring and evaluation” of the children concerned, some of whom suffer from significant psychological trauma, deploring “a lack of personnel and resources to do so”.
HRW also calls on Kiev’s Western allies, the main donors to help Ukraine maintain its social system, to “support the achievement of these objectives” and adopt “a coordinated strategy to ensure the well-being of children”, in particular by creating a working group with the UN dedicated to this subject. According to official data shared by the NGO, there were more than 105,000 orphans and children placed in orphanages in Ukraine before the start of the Russian invasion, “the highest total in Europe, behind Russia”.
Moldova: a new demonstration against the pro-European government
Moldovan police announced on Sunday the arrest of members of a network they suspect of being orchestrated by Russia with the aim of destabilizing Moldova, during a new demonstration against the pro-European government of this neighboring country of Ukraine.
The authorities of this former Soviet republic are on alert amid heightened tensions with Moscow, which is seeking to install a government committed to its cause, according to Washington. After the searches on Saturday evening, 25 men were questioned and seven of them were detained, police chief Viorel Cernauteanu said at a press conference.
Ahead of a new rally on Sunday March 12 in the capital Chisinau, controls had been reinforced at the borders: a total of 182 foreign nationals were banned from entering during the week, including “a possible member” of the paramilitary group Russian Wagner, police wrote in a statement.
The demonstration was punctuated by a few scuffles, in a tense atmosphere, shortly after bomb threats notably disrupted the operation of Chisinau airport at midday. A few thousand people gathered in front of Parliament and tried to reach the seat of government, but they were stopped by the police, who made 54 arrests.