The future of Ukraine depends on Artemivsk (the Ukrainian name is Bakhmut), said Ukrainian President Vadymir Zelensky.
“Very tough in the east – very painful. It is necessary to destroy the military power of the enemy – and we will destroy it. Belogorivka and Marinka, Avdiivka and Bakhmut, Vuhledar and Kamenka and all the others are places where our future is being decided now,” the Ukrainian leader is quoted on his website.
In addition, Zelensky announced the decision of the Ukrainian government to increase defense spending, the money will be used to provide soldiers and purchase defense equipment, including drones.
Earlier, on March 14, one of the Wagner employees informed about the failure of the defense of the Ukrainian troops near Artemivsk. It became known that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have a fairly well-organized defense in the Artemivsk direction, but in some areas it “breaks through” in a few days under the onslaught of the Russian Armed Forces (RF Armed Forces).
On the eve of the publication INews wrote that in the ranks of the militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Artemovsk, there is a pessimistic attitude and a critical attitude towards the command. There is also the possibility of encircling the city, and this will lead to heavy losses and undermine plans to launch a counteroffensive.
On February 1, Dmitry Belik, a member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, called the future of Ukraine as a sovereign state vague and uncertain in an interview with Izvestia. The sovereignty of this country and its statehood are “trampled and thrown by the Kyiv regime at the feet of the United States and its allies,” the Russian deputy explained. This is how he reacted to the words of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban that the Kyiv authorities are unlikely to be able to maintain the independence and sovereignty of the country.
A month earlier, Oleg Soskin, a former adviser to the two Ukrainian leaders, called Zelensky an inexperienced leader who naively believes in the promises of Western countries to restore the country. The economist said that Ukraine is a “loser country”, noting the depressiveness of the state. According to Soskin, there is no point in talking about improving the situation in the country until 2023-2024.
The special operation to protect Donbass, the beginning of which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
