Issued on:
Russia launched missile strikes across Ukraine on Thursday, Ukrainian officials said, killing at least one civilian, after Western allies pledged to ramp up military aid to the Ukrainian armed forces to support a planned counter-offensive. Follow FRANCE 24 for live updates. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
9:16am: Wagner chief blasts Russia’s ‘monstrous military bureaucracy,’ eyes Bakhmut capture
The head of Russian mercenary outfit Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said that Russian forces could capture the embattled city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine “in March or in April”.
In messages distributed online overnight, he said progress would depend on whether “the adversary sends reserves” and blasted Russia’s “monstrous military bureaucracy” for its failure to seize the Donetsk region city before the end of 2022.
8:57am: Moscow fires deadly barrage of missiles at targets in Ukraine
Russia again pummeled Ukraine with a barrage of cruise and other missiles on Thursday, hitting targets from east to west. Ukrainian authorities said one of the strikes killed a 79-year-old woman and injured at least seven other people.
Russian forces used a variety of missile types, firing 36 in all in a two-hour overnight burst, said Ukraine’s military chief, Valery Zaluzhnyy. He said Ukrainian air defence batteries shot down 16 of them — a lower rate of success than against some previous Russian waves.
Ukrainian authorities said targets in the north, west, south, east and centre of the country were struck. They said air defences in the south downed eight Kalibr missiles fired from a ship in the Black Sea.
One missile struck an industrial site in the western city of Lviv, causing a fire which was brought under control, authorities said.
10:15pm: China’s top diplomat discusses Ukraine war on Paris visit
French President Emmanuel Macron and China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi have agreed to contribute “towards peace” in Ukraine, Macron’s office said following talks between the two men.
Macron has made no secret of his hope that Beijing will pressure Russia to return to the negotiating table. He and Wang discussed the war in Ukraine and its “consequences on the most vulnerable countries, particularly in terms of food security and financing capacity,” according to the French presidency.
After his visit to France, Wang is set to attend the Munich Security Conference, scheduled for Friday to Sunday. He will also travel to Moscow.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
For all the latest Health News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
