In his nightly video address on March 1, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces have “every area of the front under control,” but added that civilians continue to suffer from Moscow’s “deliberate terror” in targeting civilian infrastructure.
“Across most of the country, where we have managed to provide relative security, [residents] may not be able to relate to what life is like for people living in the border areas with Russia and in the south of our country,” Zelenskiy said, noting constant Russian artillery attacks against towns along the front lines.
Zelenskiy also noted that “winter is over” and the government “was able to provide Ukraine with energy and heat.”
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter that Ukraine has dealt Russian President Vladimir Putin “another major defeat” by surviving the winter cold despite Russia’s continued attacks against civilian energy infrastructure.
Kuleba also thanked Kyiv’s allies for “standing by Ukraine.”
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The comment came amid continued intense fighting in and around the city of Bakhmut, where Ukrainian defenders have been confronted with wave after wave of Russian attacks. Ukraine’s military on March 1 reported another increase in assaults against the city in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.
In Brussels, European Union diplomats were preparing to allocate 1 billion euros to purchase badly needed artillery ammunition for Kyiv, according to a draft proposal seen by France’s AFP news agency.
EU officials estimate that Ukraine is firing about 7,000 shells per day, compared to up to 50,000 fired daily by Russian forces. EU defense ministers are expected to discuss the proposals at a meeting in Stockholm on March 7-8.
Moscow's forces also launched attacks on the Donetsk cities of Lyman, Avdiyivka, and Shakhtar, which together with Bakhmut have been the primary targets of Russia's offensive for several weeks, Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily report.
Ukrainian forces repelled more than 85 enemy attacks in a day, the military said, a stark increase compared to 60 attacks in the previous 24 hours. Two Iranian-made drones were also shot down by Ukrainian air defenses, the military said, adding that several civilians were wounded in 12 air strikes and two missile strikes recorded over the past day.
Russia has been using large numbers of infantry soldiers in its relentless attempts at surrounding Bakhmut, putting growing pressure on the Ukrainian forces.
"Russia does not count people at all, sending them to constantly assault our positions. The intensity of the fighting is only increasing," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his evening address on February 28.
A U.S. Defense Department official on February 28 described the front line in Ukraine as a "grinding slog" but said he did not expect Russia to be able to make significant territorial gains in the near term.
"You may see small portions of territory change hands in the coming weeks and months," Colin Kahl, the U.S. undersecretary of defense for policy, told a U.S. House of Representatives hearing. "I do not think that there's anything I see that suggests the Russians can sweep across Ukraine and make significant territorial gains anytime in the next year or so."
On February 27, General Oleksandr Syrskiy, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said the situation in the Bakhmut area had become "extremely tense."
"Despite suffering significant losses, the enemy has been throwing into combat the best prepared assault units of Wagner [mercenaries], who are attempting to break through the defenses of our troops and surround the city," Syrskiy said.
WATCH: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the situation around the besieged city of Bakhmut is becoming "more and more difficult." As Russia concentrates its efforts on the industrial city, Ukrainian artillery units are pushing back against waves of assaults by Russian troops. They claim to have destroyed Russian forces, equipment, and fortifications in an effort to stymie the enemy advance.
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Kyiv Says Situation In Bakhmut 'More And More Complicated'
Confronted with a steady increase in Russian pressure, Ukrainian forces may "strategically pull back" from Bakhmut, an adviser to Zelenskiy said on February 28.
"Russia is attempting to encircle [Bakhmut] right now, and they're using their best Wagner troops, apparently, the most well-trained and the most experienced to do that," economic adviser Oleksandr Rodnyanskiy told CNN.
"Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options. So far, they’ve held the city, but, if need be, they will strategically pull back -- because we're not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing," Rodnyanskiy said.
Zelenskiy has called on Kyiv's Western allies to supply Ukraine with war planes that would allow Ukrainian forces to put up a more efficient defense.