Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) meets with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira during a sideline meeting of G20 foreign ministers Wednesday. According to the Russian News Agency Tass, Lavrov held a closed-door meeting with his Brazilian counterpart in New Delhi on Wednesday. Handout Photo by Russian Foreign Press Service for EPA-EFE
March 1 (UPI) — Intense fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut continues as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signaled that Kyiv is preparing its soldiers for a counteroffensive.
“We are preparing for the return of our warriors to actions for the liberation of our land,” Zelensky said Tuesday, according to CNBC.
The commander of Ukraine‘s ground forces said that 800 Russian soldiers had died near Bakhmut since Thursday, as the city remains the main fighting area at the moment.
During a visit to Uzbekistan on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Biden administration saw “zero evidence” that Russian President Vladimir Putin was prepared for serious peace talks.
“To the contrary, the evidence is all in the other direction,” Blinken said, according to the New York Times. “The real question is whether Russia will get to a point where it is genuinely prepared to end its aggression.”
At the same time on Wednesday, Russian authorities sent a 12-year-old girl to an orphanage after she drew an anti-war picture at school. They also arrested her father on Wednesday after he made an anti-war comment on social media.
The painting by Masha Moskaleva, featured a Ukrainian flag and a Russian flag with the phrases “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine” written on it, as well as a woman shielding her child from Russian missiles.
Her teacher reported her to school authorities and she was visited at the school by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers.