by Ukraine live briefing: Zelensky says counteroffensive hasn’t started. Wagner’s chief disagrees.
The Ukrainian and Russian sides have given conflicting statements on whether Ukraine’s counteroffensive has begun, amid fierce fighting for the eastern city of Bakhmut. The head of Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, said his forces control most of the city but that a Ukrainian counteroffensive is “in full swing,” with successful attacks on Russian forces. Later Friday, Prigozhin called on Russia’s defense leaders to “stop lying” about the battlefield state of play.
Russia’s Defense Ministry denied reports of Ukrainian forces breaking through on the front lines. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country needed to wait for more equipment to arrive before starting a spring offensive — even as defense officials announced gains around Bakhmut. Some Ukrainians fear that, if the counteroffensive is perceived as falling short, pressure will grow on Zelensky to negotiate a peace deal with Moscow, or Western support could wane.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
Ukraine’s cultural counteroffensive: The rush to erase Russia’s imprint: In another sign of how Putin’s invasion has backfired, Ukrainians are erasing traces of Russian culture, language and monuments from their country, Ruby Mellen, Zoeann Murphy, Kostiantyn Khudov and Kasia Strek report. Russian books have been pulped. Russocentric museums have been shuttered. Landmarks named after Russian figures have been marked for renaming.
“No one has done more to de-Russify Ukraine than Putin,” said Rory Finnin, an associate professor of Ukrainian studies at Cambridge University. Ukrainians had been able “to manage their, at times, overlapping” and layered cultures, Finnin added, but Putin’s aggression has pushed many to seek the complete removal of Russian culture and history.
Mariana Alfaro, Loveday Morris and Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report.