Ukraine latest: Forces under severe pressure in Bakhmut, says UK military

Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut are facing increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence said on Saturday, with intense fighting taking place in and around the eastern city.

FIGHTING

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu paid a rare visit to Russia's forces deployed in Ukraine, his ministry said on Saturday.

Russian artillery pounded the last routes out of Bakhmut on Friday, aiming to completely encircle the besieged Ukrainian city and score Moscow's first major victory in half a year after the bloodiest fighting of the war.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, said in a video published on Friday that Bakhmut was “practically surrounded” by his forces and Kyiv's forces had only one road out left.

WEAPONS, SANCTIONS AND DIPLOMACY

German defence contractor Rheinmetall is in negotiations about building a tank factory in Ukraine, the newspaper Rheinische Post reported on Saturday, citing an interview with CEO Armin Papperger.

Germany is making slow progress in enforcing sanctions against Russian oligarchs and institutions, according to government numbers seen by Reuters on Saturday.

The US announced a new military aid package for Ukraine on Friday worth $400m (R7.26bn) and primarily comprised of ammunition, but that for the first time will include tactical bridges to move tanks and armoured vehicles.

US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed on Friday to keep imposing costs on Russia for its war in Ukraine.

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov accused the US of hypocrisy after US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Russia cannot be allowed to wage war in Ukraine with impunity.

ENERGY, ECONOMY

Russia's ruptured undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines are set to be sealed up and mothballed, sources say