Ukraine does not have plans to withdraw from Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Monday, adding that top military commanders had unanimously backed reinforcing the city over withdrawing from it. “There were no other opinions,” he said.
China’s foreign minister accused the United States of double standards over international arms sales on Tuesday, when he compared U.S. military support to Taiwan with warnings from Washington for China not to send “lethal aid” to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Russia advances in Bakhmut by sending waves of mercenaries to certain death: It takes Ukrainian troops little more than a glance to tell if Russian fighters advancing on their positions near the fiercely embattled city of Bakhmut are seasoned soldiers or recent recruits. The men enlisted to fight for Russia’s Wagner mercenary force — many of them convicted criminals recruited behind bars and sent to fight in Ukraine in exchange for their freedom — typically move on Ukrainian positions early in the morning, attempting attacks in irregular and unpredictable patterns.
Russia’s assault on Bakhmut, now in its eighth month, has been led by Wagner, which has used the prison recruits as cannon fodder, sent in waves to weaken the Ukrainians’ resistance, or to expose their positions. Wagner’s more battle-hardened and professional troops, many with years of experience fighting in Syria or Africa, then move in to secure territory.
Christian Shepherd contributed reporting.
*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.
