Ukraine

Latest Developments in Ukraine: March 5

Local residents take shelter, living in a basement in the village of Chasiv Yar, near the city of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's Donbas region, March 5, 2023.

For full coverage of the crisis in Ukraine, visit Flashpoint Ukraine.

The latest developments in Russia's war on Ukraine. All times EST.

11 p.m.: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid tribute to his soldiers fighting in the "painful and difficult" battle for the country's frontline eastern Donbas region, Agence France-Presse reported.

He was speaking after Ukraine's general staff reported that its forces had fought off "more than 130 enemy attacks" the previous day, including in Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

"The enemy continues its attempts to encircle the town of Bakhmut," it said early on Sunday, of the eastern city that Moscow has been trying to capture for months.

Ukraine has vowed to defend "fortress Bakhmut" which Russian troops seem determined to take. Analysts say the city, which has been virtually destroyed in the fighting, has little real strategic value.

10:20 p.m.: As the war enters its second year, a five-month-old center in Lviv shows how Ukraine is making mental health a big-picture priority in the midst of a deadly conflict the world is watching, USA Today reported.

According to the newspaper, the World Health Organization found 1-in-5 people (22%) who live in a region affected by conflict in a 10-year period is estimated to have some mental health condition ranging from mild depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder or psychosis. In relation to the conflict in Ukraine, the WHO estimates that as many as 9.6 million people may have a mental health condition, of whom 3.9 million may have needs that are moderate or severe.

9:25 p.m.: One day last June, Ivan Mishchenko was holding a Zoom conference with international legal experts as he sheltered in a trench near Izyum, a Kharkiv-region city that was under Russian occupation at the time. During the online session, he received a radio message saying that an enemy helicopter was approaching his unit’s positions. He ended the call and rushed to prepare for a possible attack.

Fighting Russian forces and reforming Ukraine’s judiciary did not seem to go hand in hand at that point — but now it’s clear to him that they are parts of the same struggle, Mishchenko, a judge on Ukraine’s Supreme Court, told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty through a video link from Warsaw.

After several months on the front lines, he left the battlefield and went to Poland to resume work with a European Union-backed commission responsible for selecting new judges in Ukraine.

8:30 p.m.: Russia has "wasted huge amounts of human resources, armaments, and materials" during the full-scale war against Ukraine, says Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, The Kyiv Independent reported.

Russia will likely run out of offensive potential by late spring, Budanov said in an interview with USA Today published on March 5.

The intelligence chief did not elaborate further on Moscow's war aims in the coming weeks.

7:38 p.m.: Burned forests and fields. Polluted rivers and soil. Flooded villages and gaping craters. A year after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine, Europe’s second-largest country, faces at least $47 billion worth of environmental damage from the fighting, the Ukrainian State Environmental Inspectorate estimates, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service reported.

Yet this estimate is only that -- a temporary tally. With Russian troops still occupying all or part of five Ukrainian regions -- Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, and Luhansk -- Ukrainian scientists, environmental protection specialists, and state inspectors cannot travel freely throughout the country to assess environmental damage firsthand.

For a more specific evaluation, Schemes, the investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, showed Ukrainian environmental experts satellite photos of eight key land sites in Ukraine taken by the U.S.-based satellite imagery company Planet Labs both before and after fighting between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces.

6:53 p.m.: The Institute for the Study of War tweeted: The #Wagner Group reportedly opened at least three new recruitment centers at sports clubs in #Russia between March 2-4, possibly to augment #WagnerGroup’s recruitment base after losing access to prisoner recruits.

6:12 p.m.: Should he stay or should he go? That’s the question sparking heated debate in Ukraine about the man whose name adorns a renowned conservatory in the heart of Kyiv: Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

In the wake of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, students at the Tchaikovsky National Music Academy of Ukraine, previously known as the Kyiv Conservatory, have pushed for the removal of the Russian composer’s name from their university.

5:25 p.m.:

5:05 p.m.: Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said Sunday that Russia has begun using 1.5-ton UPAB-1500B gliding (guided aircraft) bombs for the first time, pointing to the need for modern fighter jets to counter them, Ukrainian news site Ukrainska Pravda reports.

Ihnat emphasized that it was crucial that Ukraine receives such jets, such as F-16s.

"The planes are more mobile, they can scramble to intercept the same bombers, and with missiles with a range of more than 150 kilometers, chase away at least those planes and prevent them from dropping these bombs. That is why we need modern fighters, because our Soviet planes cannot do this," he said.

According to the Ukrainian Defense Express news outlet, the Russian used the 1.5 ton gliding bombs for the first time a few weeks ago.

Each bomb carries a 1,010 kg concrete-piercing high-explosive payload.

4:25 p.m.: The Russian General Staff reported Sunday, that Russian forces in Ukraine were conducting offensives in the Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Shakhtarsk operational directions.

In two other directions, it added, in the Russian-controlled parts of Zaporizhia and Kherson oblasts, Russian troops are keeping up the defense.

Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine’s forces have hit two command and control posts and 10 areas of concentration of Russia’s manpower and military equipment, the General Staff said.

According to the report, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered Rustam Muradov, who was appointed commander of Russia's Eastern Military District last October, to capture the town of Vuhledar in Donetsk oblast “at any price." But Russian soldiers there were refusing to obey orders because they see the offensive as “meaningless,” The Kyiv Independent reported.

3:45 p.m.: In his nightly video address Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, “The world is strong enough to punish Russia for the war.” The Ukrainian leader noted lawyers and allies from all over the world participated in that a three-day conference in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv to discuss how to hold Russia accountable for war crimes in Ukraine.

“All Russian murderers, every organizer of this aggression, everyone who in any way sustains the war against our country and terror against our people must be punished,” he said. “And this is not just a dream of justice. This is work that is already underway. These are agreements that we are already reaching. These are institutions that are already working and will work even harder to restore justice, to punish those responsible for aggression,” He added.

Zelenskyy also spoke about rebuilding and fortifying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

“Strengthening the protection of energy facilities, restoring the infrastructure that has been destroyed by Russian strikes over the past six months, and giving our people more opportunities as part of the energy system decentralization project so that they can generate and supply electricity on their private territory, at their private facilities. This is a big undertaking, and it has already begun.”

2:55 p.m.: In an interview with CNN, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that any negotiations ending the war in Ukraine will only begin once Russian President Vladimir Putin understands he will not win.

"My view, it is necessary that Putin understands that he will not succeed with this invasion and his imperialistic aggression — that he has to withdraw troops. This is the basis for talks," Scholz said.

He added that he believes Ukraine is "ready for peace."

Asked by CNN if a peace deal might involve Ukraine conceding it will not retake Crimea or parts of the eastern Donbas region, Scholz expressed unequivocal support for Ukraine. "We will not take decisions instead of them. We support them," he said.

"We told [Ukraine] that they can go for membership into the European Union. They are working to make progress in all the criteria that are important for this. I think they know that we are ready to organize a certain way of security guarantees for the country, in times of peace to come, but we are not there yet," Scholz added.

2:10 p.m.: Evacuations from the besieged city of Bakhmut have slowed significantly, the city's deputy mayor has told CNN.

Speaking by phone from a neighboring town, Oleksandr Marchenko said five to 10 people were being evacuated each day, down from up to 600 who were abandoning the city when evacuations were at their peak.

“The enemy blows everything to the ground, strikes at multi-story buildings, and the residential sector. There are air raids, artillery shelling, mortar shelling. The enemy is striking the city with everything they can,” the deputy mayor said.

“There is no way we can get there,” Marchenko stressed.

Approximately 4,000 to 4,500 people are still in Bakhmut, but Marchenko said it was difficult to persuade those there to leave.

Most, he said, "fear having nowhere to go and nothing to go with."

He said four medical workers remain in the city and there are heating points available for residents.

Russia has been pressing hard to capture Bakhmut for months and appears to be surrounding the city.

One soldier inside said Sunday that the situation remains “difficult,” as the Russian assault continues to cause “a lot of destruction” and losses for the Ukrainian side.

1:15 p.m.: In a videotaped appearance Wagner boss Yevgeni Prigozhin delivered a solemn warning of the bloody consequences for Russia if his men were to now “retreat” from Bakhmut.

12:10 p.m.: A year after Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine, Europe’s second-largest country, faces at least 1.74 trillion hryvnyas ($47 billion) worth of environmental damage from the fighting, the Ukrainian State Environmental Inspectorate estimates.

RFE/RL reports that with Russian troops still occupying all or part of five Ukrainian regions -- Crimea, Kherson, Zaporizhzhya, Donetsk, and Luhansk -- Ukrainian scientists, environmental protection specialists, and state inspectors cannot travel freely throughout the country to assess environmental damage firsthand.

The investigative unit of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, presented Ukrainian environmental experts with satellite images of eight key land sites in Ukraine taken by the U.S.-based satellite imagery company Planet Labs both before and after fighting between Russian and Ukrainian armed forces.

11:20 a.m.: Russian troops are trying but failing to surround Bakhmut while Ukrainian fighters have repelled numerous attacks in and around the city, Ukraine's armed forces' general staff said in a Facebook post late on Saturday.

The Guardian cites Oleh Zhdanov, a prominent Ukrainian analyst of military affairs, saying on a YouTube interview Saturday night that he could not detect any immediate signs Kyiv was going to order a retreat from the city.

"At the moment the situation is more or less stabilized. In terms of the advancement of Russian troops, we practically stopped (it)," he said.

The Ukrainian general staff also said Russian attacks had been foiled in the villages of Vasyukivka, Orikhovo-Vasylivka, Dubovo-Vasylivka and Hryhorivka, all of which lie just to the north of Bakhmut's city center.

Russia says Bakhmut would be a stepping stone to completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region, one of Moscow's most important goals.

10:35 a.m.: According to the Luhansk Regional Military Administration, boys born in 2006 are now to be put on the military register by Russia's proxies in the occupied regions of Luhansk Oblast for their mobilization in the future.

According to The Kyiv Independent, Ukrainian authorities do not have direct access to the temporarily occupied areas and appear to report this information relying on their local sources.

Russia’s proxies are also continuing to draft older citizens to fight against the Ukrainian forces and have increased search measures for those who have evaded the draft. Once caught they will be detained and immediately taken to conscription points.

Russian troops are facing great losses at 153,120 casualties as of March 5, according to Ukraine's General Staff.

British intelligence said Sunday, that the mobilized are sent into battle with only “firearms and shovels,” resulting in bad physical and mental state.

9:55 a.m.: Russia “has wasted huge amounts of human resources, armaments and materials. Its economy and production are not able to cover these losses said Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov. In an interview with USA Today, Sunday, Budanov predicted that Russia it will likely run out of offensive potential by late spring and added that neither the economy nor domestic military industrial complex will be able to help Russia, and it will lack resources to wage war against Ukraine if it “fails in its aims this spring.”

Budanov said “a decisive battle” is about to happen this spring and predicted that “this battle will be the final one before this war ends,” USA Today reported.

9:17 a.m.: Estonians are voting in a general election, Sunday. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken supporters of Ukraine during Russia's invasion. She faces a challenge from the far-right EKRE party, which argues that the current coalition government has given too many weapons to Ukraine. The opposition also blames the current government for Estonia’s high inflation rate. Preliminary election results are expected early Monday. Estonia broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991 and followed a pro - Western line, joining NATO and the European Union, The Associated Press reported.

8:45 a.m.: Two Ukrainian pilots are training on flight simulators in Arizona two U.S. officials said Saturday. So far Washington has not pledged to send fighter jets or sophisticated remotely piloted drones to Kyiv, Reuters reported.

The U.S. and allies have sent Ukraine weapons such as Javelin missiles and HIMARS rocket launchers, but not sophisticated jets and the largest armed drones.

The Arizona "familiarization event" is a first and will facilitate dialog between Ukrainian and U.S. personnel and provide an opportunity to observe how the U.S. Air Force operates, a U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

"This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities," the defense official said.

Other allies have also conducted similar events in the past, the defense official said. The defense official did not say how long the Ukrainians had been in the Southwestern state.

The officials said there were no updates regarding F-16 fighter jet pledges to Ukraine.

"It's about training them on their own planes," the administration official said, "not about F-16s."

The U.S. has not begun any F-16 training of Ukrainians, Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, told members of the House of Representatives Tuesday.

8:15 a.m.: Ankara is working hard to extend a U.N.-backed initiative that has allowed Ukraine to export grain from Black Sea ports blockaded by Russia since its invasion.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Sunday that The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the United Nations and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November and will expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed.

"We are working hard for the smooth implementation and further extension of the Black Sea grain deal," Cavusoglu said in a speech at the United Nations Conference on Least Developed Countries being held in Doha, Qatar.

Cavusoglu also said he discussed the extension efforts with U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres, Reuters reported.

On Wednesday, Russia said it would agree extending the agreement if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account, Reuters reported.

7:45 a.m.: A woman and two children were killed in their house by Russian mortar shelling of a village in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office said on a Telegram post, Sunday.

"Russian terrorists continue to kill civilians," he said, providing no additional details of the attack.

Kherson was occupied by Russian troops from the early days of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine until its liberation by Kyiv's forces in November. Since then, the city has regularly been shelled from Russian positions across the Dnipro River, Reuters reported.

5:17 a.m.: The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank, said in its latest Ukraine assessment that Russian forces conducted offensive actions along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line.

Russian forces also continued efforts to encircle Bakhmut and conduct ground attacks along the Donetsk Oblast front line.

Ukrainian sources continue to report that Russian forces are trying to set conditions for offensive operations in southern Ukraine.

4:09 a.m.: In a first, two Ukrainian pilots are in Arizona to fly flight simulators and be evaluated by the U.S. military, an American defense official said Saturday, as Washington remains mute on whether it will send fighter jets or sophisticated remotely piloted drones to Kyiv, Reuters reported.

The U.S. and its allies have been flooding Ukraine with weapons from Javelin missiles to HIMARS rocket launchers, but sophisticated jets and the largest armed drones have not been pledged to Ukraine.

"This event allows us to better help Ukrainian pilots become more effective pilots and better advise them on how to develop their own capabilities," the defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The official said there were no updates regarding F-16 fighter jet pledges to Ukraine.

3:18 a.m.: The latest intelligence update from the U.K. defense ministry said that some Russia reservists said they were sent into battle with "firearms and shovels" as their only weapons. The shovels, the update said, were probably "entrencing tools being employed for hand-to-hand combat."

Additionally, the update said, Russia is short of munitions, so troops are contending with less artillery support.

2:10 a.m.: From the beginning of Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, incidents of sexual violence and sexualized torture by Russian troops were reported in areas they overran.

Over the course of the war, as some Ukrainian territories have been liberated following weeks or months of Russian occupation, Ukrainian officials and aid workers say the number of such cases has reached the hundreds. But there may be many more, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported.

"Whatever reports are surfacing can only represent the tip of the iceberg," said the U.N.'s special representative on sexual violence in conflict, Pramila Patten, at a Kyiv press conference in May 2022. "Wartime rape can no longer be dismissed as an inevitable by-product of war. It must be recognized by all parties as a crime that can be prevented and punished."

Despite the widespread testimony and evidence, Russian officials deny that its troops have targeted civilians or committed war crimes during the invasion, which the Kremlin calls a "special military operation."

1:04 a.m.: Russia has reportedly used new 1.5-ton UPAB-1500B gliding bombs designed to hit highly protected objects at up to 40 kilometers, according to Ukrainian military-focused media outlet Defense Express, citing unnamed sources.

The guided bomb, first unveiled at a Russian arms expo in 2019, has since undergone full testing, been delivered to the Russian air force, and received its first orders for export, the article said.

According to its state-owned manufacturer, the bomb carries a 1,010 kilogram concrete-piercing high-explosive payload.

The use of the bombs was reportedly recorded a few weeks ago in Chernihiv Oblast, according to Defense Express. The targets were not specified.

Russia has made extensive use of air-dropped bombs in invasion of Ukraine, most notoriously in its strike on a drama theater in Mariupol in Donetsk Oblast on March 16 last year, killing hundreds of civilians sheltering inside.

12:02 a.m.: In the western city of Lviv, hundreds of kilometers from the front lines, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Saturday with the head of the European Union parliament, The Associated Press reported.

In a joint press briefing with Zelenskyy, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said that “all those responsible” for suspected Russian war crimes in Ukraine, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, must be brought to justice before a durable peace is achieved.

Metsola voiced support for the EU’s announcement Thursday that an international center for the prosecution of the crime of aggression — the act of invading another country — would be set up in The Hague.

She also called for Ukraine to start negotiations on joining the 27-nation bloc as early as this year and urged Western nations to keep arming Kyiv as it battles Russian forces in the east and south.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.