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Ukrainian forces are “repelling constant Russian attempts to advance” on the eastern towns of Bakhmut and Soledar, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday. Read FRANCE 24’s live blog for the latest developments. All times are Paris time [GMT + 1].
11:43am: Western arms ‘prolong suffering’ of Ukrainians, says Kremlin
The Kremlin on Monday said moves by France and other Western countries to supply Ukraine with weapons – including light tanks – would only make life more difficult for Ukrainians.
“Fundamentally, these deliveries cannot and will not change anything … (they) can only prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian people,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in response to a question on France’s decision last week to send armoured vehicles to Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron last week pledged to send light tanks to Kyiv.
The move to supply the French-made AMX-10 RC to Ukraine – a light model in service since the 1980s – would make France the first Western country to send tanks to Ukraine.
11:13am: Kremlin rejects claim that Russia is pushing a potential peace deal in Europe
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a Ukrainian assertion that a senior Russian official has been floating the idea of a potential peace deal over Ukraine with European officials.
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, told the country’s public broadcaster on Thursday that Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, had been holding meetings with European officials in an attempt to force Kyiv to sign what he characterised as an unfavourable peace deal.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked about Danilov’s assertion, said it was “another fake”.
11:08am: Ukraine says its forces repelling constant Russian attacks in east
President Volodymyr Zelensky said in nightly video remarks on Sunday that the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction after months of attacks.
“Our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance,” he said. In Soledar, “things are very difficult”.
Further north in the Kharkiv region, a Russian missile strike on a marketplace in the village of Shevchenkove killed a 60-year-old woman and wounded several other people, regional Governor Oleh Synehubov said.
11:06am: Kremlin ‘confident’ about defence ministry claim about Kramatorsk strike
The Kremlin said on Monday that it was confident its defence ministry was correct when it said that 600 Ukrainian servicemen had been “destroyed” in an attack on the city of Kramatorsk, despite reporting which showed the attack missed its target.
“The Kremlin has absolute confidence, I would like to remind you of the president’s words that the main source of information is the ministry of defence”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing.
A Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk missed its targets and there were no obvious signs of casualties, a Reuters reporter said on Sunday, after Moscow claimed the strike had killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
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