Russian invasionRussian reactions

Maria Zakharova. Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP  

 

Russian invasionRussian reactions  

Russian spokesperson: Kremlin is affected by infighting  

 

There are battles going on in the Kremlin's inner circle. This is according to Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman at the Russian Foreign Ministry, according to the latest situation update from the US-based think tank ISW.  

 

The statement, described as remarkable, is said to have been made at a public panel discussion in Moscow at the weekend. Zakharova, for her part, believes that the reports are false.  

 

The spokesperson has otherwise maintained a hard line against the West during the Russian invasion. Barely a year ago, she claimed - without basis and contrary to experts' assessments - that the pictures of killed civilians in the town of Butja were "ordered" by the USA. 

 

Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a propaganda clip published on March 3. The picture has been spread further by the news agency AP. AP  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

The Wagner command in Bachmut: "1,200 meters from the center"  

 

The paramilitary Wagner group states that they are advancing ever closer to the city center in Bachmut.  

 

In a video clip, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claims he is 1,200 meters from the city's administrative center. CNN has geolocated the video clip and the location appears to be correct. 

 

- Where the smoke is coming from, says Prigozhin and points in the direction of the smoke, the city's government building, it is one kilometer and 200 meters away.  

 

Yesterday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense admitted that it is becoming increasingly difficult to defend the city. Earlier on Saturday, Britain's Ministry of Defense said that Wagner controls the eastern parts of the city, and that the river that runs through the city now forms the front line.

 

 

Ukrainian soldiers in Bachmut. LIBKOS / AP  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

ISW: The Russian offensive in Bachmut seems to have stalled  

 

Russia's offensive in Bachmut in eastern Ukraine appears to have stopped, writes the ISW think tank in its latest situation analysis. 

 

Russian forces and soldiers from the paramilitary Wagner group have indeed continued their ground battles, but do not appear to have advanced, ISW writes. 

 

The defense of Bachmut helps the Ukrainian forces buy time for a counteroffensive, according to Ukrainian General Oleksandr Syrskyi. 

 

- It is necessary to buy time to build up reserves and launch a counter-offensive, which is not far away, Syrskyj said on Saturday, according to TT.  

American B-52 plane. Boris Grdanoski / AP  

 

The Russian invasion. The outside world's response  

American bomber flew in over the Gulf of Finland  

 

An American bomber flew over the Gulf of Finland on Saturday evening and turned just before the island of Hogland, which belongs to Russia. This is reported by both Ekot and Svenska Yle.  

 

Peter Haldén, docent in military science at the Norwegian Defense Academy, tells Ekot that it is not unusual. 

 

- What is new is that you flew so very close to both St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, but that you fly so close to the Russian border with B5 planes has become something of the new normal. 

 

According to Mika Aaltola, head of the Foreign Policy Institute in Finland, it is a clear marking from the US.  

 

- The Gulf of Finland is one of Europe's most strategically important straits where Russia has increased its activity, writes Aaltola on Twitter.