War in Ukraine: Wagner claims capture of village on northern outskirts of Bakhmout

Europe 1 with AFP 6:44 p.m., February 25, 2023, modified at 6:47 p.m., February 25, 2023

THE ESSENTIAL

The head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigojine, claimed Saturday the capture by his men of the village of Yaguidné, located on the northern outskirts of Bakhmout, a city that Moscow troops have been trying to take since the summer.

The capture of Yagidné further encloses the Russian stranglehold around Bakhmout, the village being located less than two kilometers from the center of this fortress city, of disputed strategic importance but which has become a symbol of the struggle for control of the region. of Donbass, in eastern Ukraine.

"At 7 p.m. on February 25, Wagner's assault units took full control of the village of Yagidné, north of Bakhmout," said Evguéni Prigojine, quoted by his press service on Telegram.

Information to remember:

• Wagner claims the capture of a village on the northern outskirts of Bakhmout.

• Russia has stopped delivering oil to Poland through the Druzhba pipeline.

• G20 Finance fails to agree on a statement on Ukraine.

A dam destroyed to slow the advance of the Russians

A photograph on the Telegram account shows armed and masked men with a Wagner flag in front of the entrance sign to the village of Iaguidné.

According to Wagner's press service, quoted by the TASS agency, Ukrainian troops blew up a dam near Bakhmout to slow the advance of Russian forces.

“Indeed, the Ukrainian armed forces blew up the dam,” the press service said, adding that it was a dam on Lake Pivnivchny, located just west of Bakhmout.

These assertions were immediately unverifiable from an independent source.

Russian forces have been trying for several weeks to encircle Bakhmout and have succeeded in cutting off several important supply routes for Ukrainian troops.

On Friday, the Wagner group, in the front line in this battle, had claimed the capture of Berkhivka north of Bakhmout and last week, that of Paraskoviïvka.

Strong tensions have arisen in recent weeks between the paramilitary group and the Russian army, Yevgeny Prigojine accusing the latter of not providing him with the ammunition he needs.

>> READ ALSO - 

Ukraine: the economy resists the shock of the war, but companies are on the brink

Russia accuses Westerners of 'destabilizing' G20 summit

Russia on Saturday accused the West of having "destabilized" the G20 Finance summit in India by trying to "blackmail" a joint statement on Ukraine, which did not happen due to differences.

"We regret that the activities of the G20 continue to be destabilized by the collective West and used in an anti-Russian and purely confrontational manner," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russia has stopped delivering oil to Poland through the Druzhba pipeline

Polish oil giant PKN Orlen announced on Saturday that its Russian partner had stopped delivering oil to it through the Druzhba pipeline under the last contract in force, which covered around 10% of the group's needs.

"Deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline to Poland have been stopped by the Russian side," the Polish group said in a statement sent to AFP.

Thus, "PKN Orlen does not receive [more] oil from Russia", according to this text.

The shutdown comes a day after the European Union approved a new set of sanctions aimed at hitting Russia's economy and Iranian companies accused of supporting its just-launched invasion of Ukraine. a year.

The group had already stopped, a year ago,

Orlen assured however that this stop will have no impact on the supply of Polish customers and that "all deliveries can [now] be provided by sea" by other suppliers.

For several years, Poland has greatly diversified its sources of gas and oil supply.

PKN Orlen imports oil by sea "from the North Sea, West Africa, the Mediterranean basin, but also from the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Mexico".

The group signed a "strategic oil delivery contract" with Saudi Aramco last year.

A fortnight ago, a Deputy Minister of State Assets, Maciej Malecki, admitted that the contract in force with the Russian group Tatneft, which expired at the end of 2024, covered "about 10% of Orlen's needs" , or 200,000 tons of oil per month, transported by the Druzhba pipeline.

The statement caused a stir in Poland, a staunch supporter of the Russian oil embargo since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which boasted last year of having a "radical plan" to abandon imports of Russian oil at the end of 2022. Maciej Malecki then assured that the contract with Tatneft was "the only one" still in force.

>> READ ALSO -

 EXCLUSIVE TESTIMONY - Ukraine: "War gets into your head", says an officer from the front

G20 Finance fails to agree statement on Ukraine

G20 finance ministers and central bankers ended their meetings in India on Saturday without reaching a joint statement, due to differences with China over the war in Ukraine.

Meeting since Friday in Bangalore, the technological capital of India, the G20 Finance was trying to agree on solutions to the challenges posed by the global economy, in a context of war in Ukraine and rising inflation.

India, which holds the presidency of the G20, published Saturday at the end of the meetings a "summary" of the discussions, but no joint press release.

“Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine” with “different assessments of the situation and sanctions,” the document said.

An annotation specifies that within the G20, only China and Russia did not approve two paragraphs about Ukraine.

Representatives of Russia and China did not sign the language on Ukraine, arguing that their role was to "deal with economic and financial issues", senior Indian official Ajay Seth told reporters.

Last year, during previous meetings of the G20 Finances, under the Indonesian presidency, no joint press release had been drafted either.