Language scandal in Odesa, reparations, fighting for Bakhmut: last night's highlights

Language scandal in Odesa

In an Odesa hotel, a Russian-speaking customer insulted female employees because of the Ukrainian language. She claimed that Ukrainian is "unfashionable" and "collective farm" language and that young people in Odesa speak only Russian.

The visitor insisted that the hotel employees were outsiders because they spoke Ukrainian.

She also couldn't understand how the girls communicate in Ukrainian in their personal lives: "When you meet guys, you say: 'I want you'? This is collective farm speak," the woman asked.

Later, the woman recorded a video apologizing.

Reparations

Ukraine, together with its partner countries, is developing an international mechanism to ensure Russia compensates it for the damage caused.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal explained that this mechanism will be based on an international treaty, and compensation will be paid from the assets of sanctioned Russians, as well as from the sovereign assets of the Russian Federation.

Bakhmut

On March 4, the spokesperson for the Eastern Military Group, Serhiy Cherevatyi, said that Russia had not taken control of Bakhmut and that there was no massive withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the town.

"The fighting in Bakhmut is more on the outskirts, the town is controlled by Ukrainian forces: Ukrainian Armed Forces, Border Guard and National Guard," he said.

Analysts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War also note that Russian troops are unlikely to be able to surround Bakhmut in the near future, although they appear to have secured a sufficient positional advantage to make a turning movement in certain areas of the town.

ISW still assesses that Ukrainian forces are much more likely to withdraw than to be surrounded, and that the Ukrainians could still hold their positions in Bakhmut if they decide to try to do so.

Sexual violence

In Ukraine, law enforcement agencies have identified 171 victims of sexual violence by the Russian occupiers, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska said at the United for Justice international conference. She noted that the number of cases of rape by the occupiers indicates that this is a deliberate policy of the Russian army.

"And this figure includes not only women, among the victims there are 39 men, 13 minors," Zelenska said.

Other news:

• In the summer of 2023, the International Center for the Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression of Russia will start operating in The Hague.
• The European Union invites countries outside the bloc to join its efforts to collectively supply ammunition to Ukraine, at least Norway has already expressed interest.
• Advisor to the Head of the President's Office Mykhailo Podolyak commented on the meeting with Ukrainian bloggers that took place on March 3. According to him, no awards were presented during the meeting, but the nature of war and information hygiene were discussed.
• In Radłów, in the south of Poland, ambulances were set on fire, which were supposed to be a gift for Ukrainian frontline hospitals in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts. Police have already detained a suspect in the arson.
• Newly elected Czech President Petr Pavel intends to visit all neighboring countries, as well as Belgium and Ukraine, during his first 100 days in office. He plans to visit Ukraine in April.
• General Christopher Cavoli, Commander of NATO's Allied Forces Europe, shared his assessment of Russian losses. According to him, in the war against Ukraine, Russia has already lost more than 200,000 Russian soldiers and more than 1,800 officers killed or wounded.