Russian forces attack Sumy Oblast 45 times on 7 March.

Russian forces carried out nearly 50 attacks on two locations in Sumy Oblast on 7 March.

Sumy Oblast was hit a total of 45 times with mortar-launched bombs and artillery shells. The Bilopillia hromada [hromada - an administrative unit designating a town, village or several villages and their adjacent territories - ed.] was hit eight times. The Esman hromada was hit 27 times with artillery and another 10 with mortars.

The Oblast Military Administration stressed that the situation near the Russian-Ukrainian border remains under Ukraine’s control and that no Russian offensive units have been detected in the area.

Capture of Bakhmut will open path for Russia to other cities of Donetsk Oblast – Zelenskyy.

The capture of the city of Bakhmut would open the way for Russia to reach other settlements in Donetsk Oblast, which is why Ukrainian troops continue to defend it.

"We understand that after Bakhmut they could go further. They could go to Kramatorsk, they could go to Sloviansk, it would be open road for the Russians after Bakhmut to other towns in Ukraine, in the Donetsk direction. That’s why our guys are standing there" - said President Zelenskiy.

As he states, the defence of Bakhmut is a tactical decision for Ukraine. At the same time, Russia is trying to gain "at least some victory," even by destroying everything in the city and killing its residents.

Zelenskyy emphasised that if Russia can "put their little flag" on top of Bakhmut, it will help "mobilize their society in order to create this idea they’re such a powerful army."

At the same time, the President stated that it is necessary to "think about our people first and no one should be surrounded, encircled".