Analysts suspect Kiev is deploying long-range missiles
Analysts speculate that Ukraine has new long-range missiles, according to the Reuters news agency. They base it on persistent claims of Ukrainian missile strikes on the main city of the Luhansk region, which is far from Ukrainian positions.
Reuters reports that Moscow officials said on Friday the missiles injured six children and a Russian parliamentarian and damaged two disused factories about 100km behind the front line. The alleged attacks could not be verified and there was no immediate official response from Kiev.
Der Spiegel: Berlin promises Kiev largest arms package ever
Germany is preparing the largest arms package to date for Ukraine, according to the weekly Der Spiegel. It would concern military aid worth 2.7 billion euros.
Der Spiegel reports that the package contains thirty Leopard 1 tanks and twenty Marder infantry fighting vehicles. In addition, Berlin is donating 200 reconnaissance drones, 15 Gepard anti-aircraft vehicles and 4 Iris anti-aircraft systems. Also, the Ukrainian military will receive more ammunition and armored vehicles to defend against the Russian army.
British Ministry of Defense: Disordered retreat of Russian Bachmut units
The British Defense Ministry says the Russian withdrawal to Bachmut shows how Russia lacks “credible fighting units”. Ukrainian forces have recaptured at least a kilometer of territory at Bachmut as Russian units have withdrawn in disarray from their positions on the southern flank of the Bachmut Front over the past four days.
Zelenskyj: Russian troops at Bachmut rejected
Ukrainian soldiers reclaimed land near Bachmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday, as Moscow acknowledged that some Russian troops had left the area. The “overwhelming efforts” of Ukrainian troops have resulted in the Russians being halted or even “driven back,” Zelensky said on social media Telegram after a meeting with his general staff.
He added that in other sectors of the front the situation was under control. “Our troops advanced two kilometers to the Bachmut section,” wrote the Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine. He added that no positions in the city were abandoned during the week and heavy losses were inflicted on the Russians. A Russian Defense Ministry spokesman acknowledged the withdrawal of Russian units northwest of Bachmut but described it as a repositioning to bolster defences.
dhis live blog is based on reports from our correspondents and editors BNR, The Guardian, ANP, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Associated Press, CNN, BBC, CNBC and Agence France-Presse. BNR also uses online reports from news agencies Tass and RIA Novosti (Russia) and Belta (Belarus). Since the reporting of these agencies is not verifiable and cannot be qualified as independent, in these cases the source of the report is explicitly stated.