Russia-Ukraine live: Wagner claims capture of eastern Bakhmut

• Russia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries has taken full control of the eastern part of Bakhmut, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Russian army would have an “open road” into eastern Ukraine if it captures the besieged city of Bakhmut, US media reported on Tuesday.

• South Korea approved Poland’s export of howitzers with local parts to Ukraine: ReutersSeoul approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in the country told Reuters news agency.The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia.Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way.The Defense Acquisition Program Administration’s (DAPA) technology control bureau reviewed and approved the transfer, said Kim Hyoung-cheol, director of the Europe-Asia division of the International Cooperation Bureau.“We reviewed all the documentation and possible issues inside DAPA … then we made decision to give out export license to Poland,” he said.
• Berlin warns against premature accusations on Nord Stream attackGerman Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has warned against premature accusations on Wednesday after a report surfaced indicating a pro-Ukrainian group was behind last year’s attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines.“It may just as well have been a false flag operation staged to blame Ukraine, an option brought up in the media reports as well,” Pistorius told public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview.“The likelihood for one or the other is equally high,” the minister said, who was speaking in Stockholm where EU defence ministers are meeting. UN chief Guterres to meet Zelenskyy in KyivUnited Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Kyiv where he hopes to negotiate an extension of the UN-brokered wartime grain export deal between Russia and Ukraine to avoid worsening a global grain shortage.Guterres plans to meet President Zelenskyy to press for an extension of the deal.The Black Sea Grain Initiative is currently scheduled to expire on March 19.
• ‘Pro-Ukraine group’ behind Nord Stream sabotageUS officials have seen new intelligence that indicates a “pro-Ukrainian group” was responsible for the sabotage last year of the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the New York Times reported .The claims have been dismissed by a senior Ukrainian official.In a cautious report that did not identify the source of the intelligence or the group involved, the paper said the US officials had no evidence implicating Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the pipeline bombing.
• Russia’s Wagner Group ‘controls’ all of eastern BakhmutRussia’s Wagner Group of mercenaries has taken full control of the eastern part of Bakhmut, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said.“Units of the private military company Wagner have taken control of the eastern part of Bakhmut,” Prigozhin said in a voice recording on the Telegram messaging platform of his press service. “Everything east of the Bakhmutka river is completely under the control of Wagner.”Al Jazeera could not independently verify the report.

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