Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv pushes for fighter jets despite U.S., German refusal; Russia makes 'concerted assault’ on Donetsk - CNBC

Yan Gagin, an advisor to the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, told the Rossiya-1 TV channel Tuesday that Russian forces in Donetsk are taking control of one settlement after another, and are advancing on Bakhmut, capturing which is a key strategic goal for Russia.

The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia - all ruled by Moscow until they broke away from the Soviet Union in 1991 - have strongly backed Ukraine, supporting its argument that it needs more advanced Western weapons as soon as possible in order to head off a feared new Russian offensive.

News outlet Politico reported Monday that France is considering Ukraine's request for fighter-jet pilot training, citing an aide to the country's defense minister, while Poland has signaled its willingness to send such weaponry but said it would act in "full coordination" with its allies.

Kateryna Avdeyeva (C), holds a portrait of her late friend, Ukrainian serviceman of the Azov battalion killed in action in Bakhmut, 28-year-old orphan Oleksandr Korovniy, as she attends his funeral ceremony at a cemetery in Sloviansk on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Natalia Shalashnaya (R), 52, mourns over the casket of the late Ukrainian serviceman of the Azov battalion killed in action in Bakhmut, 28-year-old orphan Oleksandr Korovniy, of whom she was the legal guardian, at a cemetery in Sloviansk on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Kateryna Avdeyeva (C), mourns as she holds a portrait of her late friend, Ukrainian serviceman of the Azov battalion killed in action in Bakhmut, 28-year-old orphan Oleksandr Korovniy, as she attends his funeral ceremony at a cemetery in Sloviansk on January 30, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.