New aid from the US and fighting in Bakhmut: today's highlights

What is the situation in Bakhmut?

According to the General Staff, on March 3, Ukrainian troops repelled numerous attacks by the occupiers in the areas of Vasiukivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka and Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast. Russian shelling hit the areas of settlements near the area of hostilities: Fedorivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka, Bakhmut, Ivanivske, Stupochki, Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka, Ozarianivka, Diliivka, Maiorsk and Pivnichne in Donetsk Oblast.

Information about the alleged withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast and the complete encirclement of the town by the occupiers appeared online. This was stated, in particular, by the owner of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhyn, in a video message. However, the National Resistance Center reported that the video was recorded not even on the outskirts of the city, but, judging by the footage, in the village of Paraskoviivka.

Currently, there are soldiers of the Kholodnyi Yar 93rd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Bakhmut. Iryna Rybakova, a spokesperson for the 93rd Brigade, who is currently in Bakhmut, confirmed to us that the brigade continues to defend the city. The Ukrainian Army reported that intense fighting is taking place in and around the city.

hromadske journalists visited Bakhmut in late February and visited 600 meters from the Russian positions. Find out more in the report from the city.

New assistance

The United States has announced a new $400 million military aid package for Ukraine. The package will include ammunition for HIMARS and howitzers, ammunition for Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, explosive ordnance, and more.

Accusations of the ICRC

The advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, said that on February 2, the Red Cross delivered “humanitarian aid” to the temporarily occupied Mangush in Mariupol Raion, including computer equipment for the occupation administration.

The spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oleksandr Vlasenko, told us in a comment that the organization provides Mariupol residents with food, hygiene kits, and medical supplies, and supports “social service providers” with furniture, bedding, household appliances, and other items, including IT equipment.

 “These donations are made solely for humanitarian purposes to facilitate the distribution of humanitarian aid to people in need. The ICRC systematically monitors how the humanitarian aid is used to ensure that it is used exclusively for humanitarian purposes,” Vlasenko said.

A plane was shot down over occupied Donetsk Oblast

An airplane was shot down in the area above the city of Yenakiieve, Donetsk Oblast, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Yenakiieve is located in the “deep rear”. The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners shot down a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber.

“One of the pilots is dead, the other is preparing to join him,” the statement said.

Expenditures on prisoners of war

In 2022, Ukraine spent about 10,000 hryvnias per month on one Russian prisoner held in a camp, the Ministry of Justice reported. Earlier, the Ministry of Justice said it was three thousand hryvnias, explaining that it was only spending on food and utilities.

Other news:

• The former head of Ukrzaliznytsia, Oleksandr Kamyshyn, has become a freelance adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• The bodies of 17 fallen Ukrainian soldiers were brought home from the temporarily occupied territories.
• The Ministry of Reintegration wants families with children to be forcibly removed from the war zones – the ministry has already initiated such a project.
• Already 29 states have joined the coalition for the creation of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine.
• Belarus sentenced Ales Bialiatski, head of the Viasna Human Rights Center and Nobel Peace Prize winner, to 10 years in prison.
• The government handed over the confiscated assets of fugitive President Viktor Yanukovych: apartments, houses, cars, and a ship to the State Property Fund.
• The Russian pilot who bombed the Kharkiv TV tower will spend 12 years behind bars.