1,000 Russians killed in Bahmut since March 6 / Zakharova admits problems with Putin regime

Update 07:00 ISW: Zakharova admits that there was a fight in the Kremlin

According to the daily bulletin of the American Think Tank for the Study of War (ISW), Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the foreign minister, reportedly confirmed that there were “internal struggles” in Kremlin circles and that “Putin seems to be doing that. He can’t resolve them”.

During a forum in Moscow, a foreign ministry spokesman reportedly said the Kremlin could no longer propose a Stalinist approach to central control of Russian domestic intelligence because of unspecified struggles among the Kremlin’s “elite.”

According to ISW, these reports support some of the same think tank’s assessment of the dynamics of Russian regime degradation and control of the information space. “There will be infighting among key members of Putin’s inner circle; Putin has ceded the information space to various semi-independent actors; Putin has been unable to take decisive steps to regain control of the information space.

According to ISW, it is not clear why Zakharova made these claims, but “she may have wanted to lower the expectations of nationalist military bloggers about the Kremlin’s ability to give coherence to a single narrative. A unified policy”.

Update 06:30 Zelensky: 1,100 Russian soldiers killed in Bahmut since March 6

“Within a week – from March 6 – only in the Bahmut sector”, Ukrainian soldiers “managed to eliminate more than 1,100 enemy soldiers, which means Russia’s irreversible losses near Bahmut,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his speech. Night added that the Russians had recorded “at least 1,500” casualties. In addition, dozens of enemy equipment units were destroyed and more than ten Russian ammunition depots were burned.

Update 05:00 – Vuhledar town bombed with incendiary munitions by Russia

Update 3:06 – Saakashvili is dying

Georgia’s former president says he’s “dying” from poisoning.

Mikheil Saakashvili told Sky News: “I’m always in bed, my bones are disintegrating and it’s causing me a lot of pain.”

Update 1:41 – Lukashenko visits Iran to discuss bilateral relations

Dictator Alexander Lukashenko arrived in Tehran, Iran on March 12 to meet Iranian leaders, the Belarusian Press Service reported. They are said to discuss the countries’ bilateral relations with an “emphasis on trade and economic cooperation” including industry, agriculture, transport and logistics.

Chief Wagner acknowledged that Ukrainian forces are fighting hard in Bahmut

Evgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian private military company Wagner, admitted that Ukrainian soldiers were fighting hard in Bahmut, saying they were “fighting for every metre”.

In a new audio message published on his Telegram page on Sunday, Prigozhin said: “The situation in Bahmut is very difficult, the enemy is fighting every meter. The closer we get to the center of the city, the harder the fight is, more artillery and more tanks are working against us”.

“Ukrainians throw away endless reserves”, according to Prigozhin CNN.

SBU confirms identity of hanged Ukrainian prisoner

Glory to Ukraine! Before being executed in a video that went viral on social media.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) identified him as a sniper from the 163rd Battalion of the 119th Tank Brigade in the Chernihiv region, Oleksandr Matsievsky.

Officials said the SBU came to this conclusion after contacting the shooter’s family and fellow soldiers and processing photo and video material.

“He who proved to the whole world what the character and invincibility of Ukrainians is, even in the face of death, is a true hero,” SBU head Vasyl Maliuk said in a statement on their website. “It is these defenders who protect our country today, which means that the enemy will surely be defeated. Because the great victory of Ukraine is due to the heroic deeds of people like Oleksandr Matsievsky. Glory to the hero! Glory to the heroes. Glory to Ukraine!”

Russia continues to attack the city of Bahamut

The Ukrainian military said in an update that Russian troops continued to attack the town of Bahmut in eastern Ukraine on Sunday.

The city of Sloviansk, about 59 kilometers northwest of Bahmut, was also hit, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a statement.

“On the previous day, the enemy launched a missile attack on a civilian infrastructure facility in Sloviansk, Donetsk region. The enemy launched four airstrikes and fired about 20 times with multiple missile systems,” the update says.

Sloviansk is among the cities Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has mentioned this week as Russian targets if Bahmuth falls.

“We understand that the Russians can go further after Bahmud. They can go to Gramadores, they can go to the Slovenians, and after Bahmud there will be an open route for the Russians to other cities in Ukraine in the direction of Donetsk,” the president said. declared.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, there are no confirmed advances by Russian forces in Bahmut, but it is difficult to establish an accurate picture of what is happening in the besieged city in the east of the country.