The Russian InvasionThe Battles

 

Photo by Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. Russian soldiers reportedly raise the Russian flag in Bachmut AP  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

Russia changes name to Bachmut - raises flag 

 

Russia is changing the name of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Sky News reports.  

 

Pushilin now believes that the city should be called by its former Soviet name "Artemovsk". 

 

He writes on Telegram that he visited Bachmut on Tuesday and that the Russian flag was "raised" over the city. The accounts of who is in control of the city are conflicting.  

 

The Russian military and the Wagner Group claim to have taken full control of the city, while Ukrainian forces say they have made progress and pushed Russian forces to the outskirts of the city.  

 

Peter Lidén. Screenshot SVT  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles 

Expert: It is in Ukraine's interest that the Kremlin is mocked  

 

Russia claims to have put down the armed attack in Belgorod. Most things indicate that this is true, says Peter Lidén, lieutenant colonel and teacher at the Defense Academy, in SVT's Aktuellt. 

 

Ukraine likely consented to the attack because it came from that direction, but to what extent they directed and coordinated it is difficult to say, according to Lidén.  

 

When asked what purpose possible Ukrainian interference might have had, Lidén replies that the attack was so large that Russia was forced to redistribute military resources from Ukraine to Belgorod. 

 

- This is exactly the kind of dilemma you want to expose (the Russian leadership) to: to choose, and in this case to be mocked because you don't even have control over your own territory.  

 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. Mads Claus Rasmussen / Ritzau Scanpix  

 

The Russian InvasionThe Battles  

The adviser: Zelensky decides when the spring offensive will begin  

 

Ukraine's National Security Adviser Oleksiy Danilov says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will decide when the spring offensive will begin, CNN reports.  

 

- We are aware of when, where, what and how a spring offensive should begin. The final decision rests with the president and the security chiefs, says Danilov to the television channel.  

 

He believes that the offensive can start "at any time" and that Russia "will definitely feel it".