Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Voldymyr Zelensky signed a security agreement on Friday.
Russia is building up significant forces around Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine as it seeks to make a breakthrough in the Donetsk region, a Ukrainian official said Friday.
Illia Yevlash, spokesperson for the operational group overseeing the eastern front line, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that Russian forces were concentrating their efforts to mount a powerful push on the key strategic western town of Bakhmut, which fell to Moscow last May, hoping to advance towards Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Ukrainian forces battling Russian efforts to advance in the direction of Bakhmut say they have come under a major Russian push over the past three weeks and face constant attacks, with Moscow’s troops sending wave after wave wave of infantry and targeting them with a variety of artillery pieces and drones.
Russian drones and missiles
The Ukrainian Air Force says it has shot down 14 Shahed drones out of 17 launched by Russian forces in the regions of Odessa, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk, during the night from Friday to Saturday. Three Kh-59/Kh-35 air-launched guided missiles were also launched by Russian forces according to the Ukrainian military.
At least four people, including a three-year-old child, were killed in Odessa, southern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian authorities. The region’s governor, Oleh Kiper, declared a day of mourning on Sunday, March 3.
In the partially occupied Kherson region, Russian artillery fire killed a 53-year-old man on Saturday morning, according to the Kherson regional prosecutor’s office.
In Russia, a drone crashed into an apartment building in St. Petersburg on Saturday morning, according to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Six people received medical treatment after the building explosion, the agency said, citing the press service of the city’s health care committee.
Security agreement between Ukraine and the Netherlands
During a visit to Ukraine’s eastern Kharkiv region, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Voldymyr Zelensky on Friday signed a bilateral security agreement providing for 2 billion euros in military aid from from the Netherlands this year and additional defense assistance over the next ten years.
In a message posted to X, formerly Twitter, Zelensky said the deal prioritized “the provision of air, artillery, maritime and long-range defense capabilities, with particular emphasis on strengthening the Ukrainian Air Force.”
Last August, Washington authorized its allies to supply F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. The Netherlands and Denmark announced that they would supply the fighter jets to Kyiv, but that the delivery time depended on how quickly Ukraine’s crews and infrastructure could be prepared.
In a message posted on Telegram, Mr Zelensky said the new fighter jets would be in the skies this year.
“We must make this year an effective year to defend ourselves against Russian guided bombs, Russian planes and their missiles”Mr. Zelensky said.
In a statement released Friday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said the armed forces shot down 13 Russian aircraft in February, including 10 Su-34 fighter-bombers, 2 Su-3 fighters and 1 radar detection and control aircraft at long range A-50.
“This is the best result since October 2022. We are grateful to our soldiers for their effective work. And to our partners for strengthening Ukraine’s air defense capabilities”said the Ministry of Defense.
