KIEV (Reuters)Jan,10 – Ukrainian forces are facing a wave of attacks by Russian forces on the small salt-mining town of Soledar, Kyiv officials said on Tuesday.
The British Ministry of Defense said Russian forces and Wagner Group mercenaries were likely to take control of most of the city after the past four days of advances.
The capture of Soledar would give the Russians an advantage in fighting to capture the town of Bakhmut, a few kilometers (miles) to the southwest.
Prigozin on Saturday said the area’s importance lies in its network of cavernous underground mining tunnels that can accommodate troops and tanks.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the fighting in Bahkmut and Soledar was “the most intense on the entire front line”. “There are so many people left on the battlefield…either dead or wounded,” he said on YouTube. usually die where they lie, from exposure to cold or loss of blood.”
At a shelter in Kramatorsk, Olha, 60, said he fled Soledar after moving from apartment to apartment as each one was destroyed in a tank battle.
“No house is intact. The apartment burned and collapsed in half,” said Olha, who only gave her first name.
Ukrainian officials, led by Supreme Commander Valery Sardiny, have warned that Russia is preparing a new attack on Ukraine, possibly a new army against the capital Kyiv.
Zelensky has repeatedly called on Ukraine’s western supporters to provide more sophisticated weapons to help Ukraine repel attacks and ultimately drive out Russian forces.
A spokesman for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said London had yet to make a final decision on sending tanks to Ukraine. A spokesman said Britain will continue to coordinate support with allies after Germany, France and the United States announced last week that they would provide armored vehicles.
On February 24, Russia launched what it calls a “military special operation” in Ukraine, citing threats to its own security and the need to protect Russian-speaking people. Ukraine and its allies have accused Russia of waging a unilateral war for territorial gains.
Moscow also portrays the conflict as a struggle between Russia and rival Western powers. “The events in Ukraine are not a clash between Moscow and Kyiv. This is a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and most importantly between the United States and the United Kingdom,” said Nikolai of Russia’s Security Council. Patrushev said on Tuesday.
“The plan of the West is to pull Russia further apart and eventually wipe it off the political map of the world,” Patrushev, one of Putin’s closest allies, told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper. .
Meanwhile, Russia has appointed General Alexander Lapin as chief of staff of the country’s ground forces, TASS reported, despite criticism from Falken for his performance in Ukraine. , the latest in a series of changes in military leadership in wartime Moscow.
