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☆ Russia's Wagner Group says it found body of a missing Briton in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] Andrew Bagshaw, one of the two British men missing in Ukraine is seen in this undated handout photo. The Spearhead Foundation/Handout via REUTERSJan 11 (Reuters) - Forces from Russia's Wagner Group on Wednesday found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine, the private military firm said in a statement. Documents for both Britons were discovered with him," said the Wagner statement. Ukrainian police said the two left the city of Kramatorsk for the town of Soledar on Friday morning and were reported missing on Saturday evening after contact with them was lost. A spokesperson for Britain's Foreign Office said: "We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine."

☆ Factbox: Why Russia is targeting the Ukrainian town of Soledar
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Moscow's capture of Soledar and its salt mines would have symbolic, military and commercial value for Russia. If Russia is able to capture Soledar, it would likely be able to use that position to intensify its assault on Bakhmut. SALT MINESSoledar is also home to cavernous salt mines that are owned by state-owned enterprise Artemsil, which dominated the Ukrainian market until it halted production a few months after Russia invaded. The salt mines could serve as a commercially lucrative asset and also be used to store ammunition and weapons out of range of Ukrainian missiles. A U.S. official said last week that Prigozhin was interested in taking control of salt and gypsum from mines near Bakhmut.

☆ Russia appoints top soldier Gerasimov to oversee Ukraine campaign
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Summary Gerasimov to oversee military campaign in UkraineLatest reshuffle follows more battlefield setbacksGerasimov has been target of Russian pro-war criticsJan 11 (Reuters) - Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov on Wednesday to oversee the military campaign in Ukraine, in the latest shake-up of Moscow's military leadership. In a statement, the defence ministry said Shoigu had appointed Gerasimov as commander of the combined forces group for the "special military operation" in Ukraine. Surovikin will now stay on as a deputy of Gerasimov, the defence ministry said. As the unified commander in Ukraine, Surovikin was becoming very powerful and was likely bypassing Shoigu/Gerasimov when talking to Putin," Lee said. Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in intense fighting on Wednesday over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, a stepping stone in Moscow's push to capture the entire Donbas region.

☆ Russia's Wagner Group claims 'liberation' of Soledar, says about 500 Ukrainians killed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 11 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner on Wednesday said his forces had achieved the complete "liberation" of the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar, killing around 500 pro-Ukraine troops. Minutes before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had mocked earlier Russian claims to control part of the town and said fighting continued. Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Tuesday announced his forces had control over Soledar but said battles were still raging in the city centre. [1/3] Ukrainian army, of the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade fire a German howitzer Panzerhaubitze 2000, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, near Soledar, Ukraine, January 11, 2023. (This story has been refiled to revise the headline and the first paragraph to change the word "liberated" to "liberation".)

☆ Russia Gains Ground in East Ukraine as Fight for Bakhmut Intensifies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Matthew Luxmoore | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Smoke rises in Soledar in eastern Ukraine, a town with a prewar population of 10,000 people that now lies destroyed and mostly abandoned. Russian forces made headway in gaining control of a strategic Ukrainian town on Tuesday as they continued efforts to encircle nearby Bakhmut, an eastern city the Ukrainians have fiercely defended for months despite a Russian onslaught. Russian troops and members of the Wagner Group paramilitary force now most likely control the majority of Soledar, 6 miles northeast of Bakhmut, the U.K.’s Defense Ministry said.

☆ Russia nears breakthrough after months of 'savage' fighting in eastern Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Patrick-Smith-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Patrick Smith | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Russia has struggled to advance in the area for months, with both sides suffering huge losses as it became a focal point of the conflict after Ukraine's successful counteroffensive in the south. But the Kremlin's forces appeared to have made progress in Soledar in recent days. There is almost no life left.”“The whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes,” he added. The Moscow-backed leader of the occupied areas of Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, told Russian state TV on Tuesday that Russian forces were “very close” to taking Soledar, but that the gains were coming at a high price. Taking the town would create “good prospects” to then take Bakhmut, he said.

☆ Russian prisoners sent to the front lines in Ukraine have been publicly executed for not charging into enemy fire, captured inmates say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( John Haltiwanger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Captured members of a Russian mercenary group say disobedient troops and deserters are being publicly executed in Ukraine. The infamous Wagner Group has recruited prisoners to fight on the front lines. One captured former inmate described many of the recruited prisoners as "completely insane." The Russian military has suffered staggering losses since Moscow launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine last February. In an effort to address worsening manpower issues, the Wagner Group has fought alongside the Russian military and has recruited Russian prisoners in the process.

☆ Russia's Wagner says it controls Ukrainian town of Soledar, fighting continues -agencies
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner on Tuesday said his forces had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar but that fighting continued, Russian news agencies reported. Ukraine had said earlier in the day that its forces were still holding out despite a Russian onslaught. "Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on," Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement cited by Russian agencies. Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra MalerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Russia is letting prisoners soak up withering Ukrainian fire in a 'savage' battle, 'trading' them and others for bullets, US official says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Russian forces are sending prisoners to absorb heavy Ukrainian fire around the war-torn city of Bakhmut. Moscow's applying a classic tactic of "trading individuals for bullets," a senior US military official said. The official added that Moscow's current tactic of "trading individuals for bullets" has been used on the battlefield throughout Russian history. "You're talking about thousands upon thousands of artillery rounds that have been delivered between both sides," the official said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a nightly address on Monday that Russia has concentrated its "greatest efforts" on Soledar.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Russians make 'tactical advances' near key target of Bakhmut; Kyiv says situation is 'extremely difficult'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Soledar is around 6 miles north of Bakhmut, the capture of which likely continues to be Russia's "main immediate operational objective," the ministry noted. A Ukrainian multiple-launch rocket system is hiding among the trees near Soledar as the fighting in the Donbas region continues. The ministry noted that "Russia's Soledar axis is highly likely an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication." "Part of the fighting has focused on entrances to the 200km-long disused salt mine tunnels which run underneath the district. He conceded, however, that the fighting was "extremely difficult" around Soledar, a place where he said there were barely any walls left standing.

☆ Britain says Russian forces may control most of eastern Ukraine's Soledar
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Jan 10 (Reuters) - Russian and Wagner forces are probably in control of most of the small town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine after tactical advances in the last four days, the British defence ministry said in a regular intelligence update on Tuesday. loadingOfficials in Kyiv have said Moscow stepped up a powerful assault on Soledar in the industrial Donbas region, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by the Wagner contract militia around the salt mining town and nearby fronts. Soledar is a few miles from Bakhmut, where troops of both sides have suffered heavy losses in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. "Russia’s Soledar axis is highly likely an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication," Britain added in its intelligence update. Reporting by Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Wagner chief says he wants to seize a key Ukrainian city for its vast network of caves and tunnels that could be used for war
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russia's Wagner Group has been fighting on the front lines in Bakhmut, Ukraine. Prigozhin is referring to a vast network of caves and salt mines underneath the city. Its founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said over the weekend that he wants to seize the location because of its vast tunnel network, which he termed "underground cities." Prigozhin, who has close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is referring to a winding labyrinth of caves and salt mines under Bakhmut. The US has also accused Wagner Group troops of exploiting the natural resources in warzones in the Middle East and Africa where they fought for Russia in other conflict.

☆ Ukraine bolsters its defenses around Bakhmut as Russia sends waves of attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +1 min

Ukraine said it was strengthening its forces around Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region and repelling constant attacks there by Russian mercenary group Wagner, whose leader has vowed to capture the area’s vast underground mines. Kyiv had sent reinforcements to Soledar, a small town near Bakhmut where the situation was particularly difficult, Ukrainian officials said. Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, has been trying to capture Bakhmut and Soledar for months at the cost of many lives on both sides. A U.S. official has said Prigozhin, a powerful ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is eyeing the salt and gypsum from the mines. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in nightly video remarks on Sunday that Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction after months of attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mocked previous Wagner claims to have seized part of Soledar but made no immediate comment on the latest assertions. In a statement on Facebook, the Ukrainian military general staff said Russian forces were suffering heavy losses as they tried to take Soledar and sever Ukrainian supply lines. [1/21] A satellite view shows a smoldering building, in Soledar, Ukraine, January 3, 2023. One prominent military blogger who posts on the Telegram messaging app under the name of Rybar said Surovikin was being made the fall guy for recent Russian military debacles. Wagner separately said its forces found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine.

☆ Ukraine war live updates: Bakhmut 'holding out against all odds,' Zelenskyy says; Russia backs banning maps disputing official 'territorial integrity'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Holly Ellyatt | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

The situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine hasn't changed significantly in the first week of the year, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, with "heavy fighting" continuing in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, particularly around Bakhmut and Soledar. "Bakhmut is holding out against all odds. And although most of the city is destroyed by Russian strikes, our warriors repel constant attempts at Russian offensive there. Soledar is holding out. Although there is even more destruction there and it is extremely hard," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday.

"The enemy literally step over the corpses of their own soldiers, using massed artillery, MLRS systems and mortars," Malyar said. Prigozhin has been trying to capture Bakhmut and Soledar for months at the cost of many lives on both sides. "Thanks to the resilience of our soldiers in Soledar, we have won for Ukraine additional time and additional strength," Zelenskiy said. [1/8] General view of railway lines, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Siversk, Ukraine, January 9, 2023. Moscow has not commented on the reports from the village, which Ukraine recaptured from Russian forces in September.

☆ Moscow ends self-proclaimed cease-fire and vows to press ahead in Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

One person was killed in another attack overnight on Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region, local officials said. Spencer Platt / Getty ImagesMost Ukrainian Orthodox Christians have traditionally celebrated Christmas on Jan. 7, as have Orthodox Christians in Russia. But this year, the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, the country’s largest, allowed also for a Dec. 25 celebration. Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk, said that there were nine missile strikes on the region overnight, including seven on the battered city of Kramatorsk. Shellfire echoed on Saturday around the near-deserted streets of Bakhmut, an eastern city that is currently the focus of the most intense fighting.

☆ Ukraine says its forces repel constant Russian attacks in east
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/10] A woman stands at the site of a missile strike that occurred during the night, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, January 8, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh KilcoyneJan 8 (Reuters) - Ukrainian forces are repelling constant Russian attacks on Bakhmut and other towns in the eastern region of Donbas, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday, after denying Kremlin claims of 600 soldiers killed in a missile strike. Russia launched seven missile strikes, 31 air strikes and 73 attacks from salvo rocket launchers in the past day, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said in a daily report. "And even though most of the town has been destroyed by Russian strikes, our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance." Some prominent Russian military bloggers have criticised the Russian defence ministry claims.

☆ No sign of casualties after Russia claims revenge attack on Ukrainian soldiers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-08 | by ( Vladyslav Smilianets | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/7] People look at the site of a missile strike that occurred during the night, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, January 8, 2023. A Reuters team visited two college dormitories that Moscow said had been temporarily housing Ukrainian personnel and which it had targeted as revenge for a New Year's attack that killed scores of Russian soldiers and caused outcry in Russia. There were no obvious signs that soldiers had been living there and no sign of bodies or traces of blood. "This is an information operation of the Russian defense ministry," Cherevatyi told Ukrainian broadcaster Suspilne News. If true, it would be the single largest loss of Ukrainian troops since Russia invaded on Feb. 24 last year.

☆ Wagner boss wants Bakhmut for its 'underground cities'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-07 | by ( Andrew Osborn | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary group which is fighting in the battle of Bakhmut, set out in detail on Saturday why he thought its capture would be significant. "The cherry on the cake is the system of Soledar and Bakhmut mines, which is actually a network of underground cities. His comments were a reference to vast salt and other mines in the area which contain more than 100 miles of tunnels and a vast underground room which has hosted football matches and classical music concerts in more peaceful times. Prigozhin, who is sanctioned in the West, cited other advantages of taking Bakhmut, calling it "a serious logistics centre" with unique defensive fortifications. Bakhmut, which Russia calls Artyomovsk, is the focus of the most intense fighting in Ukraine, and Prigozhin made his comments as another Telegram channel associated with Wagner claimed Russia had captured a strategically-important settlement on Bakhmut's outskirts.

"Right now the war in Ukraine is at a critical point," U.S. President Joe Biden told reporters. Germany would provide Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles, according to a joint statement on Thursday from Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz. TRUCE PROPOSALUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejected out of hand a Russian order for a truce over Orthodox Christmas starting at noon on Friday and ending at midnight on Saturday. The heaviest fighting of the war continues in eastern Ukraine, with the worst of it near the eastern city of Bakhmut. Ukraine says Russia has lost thousands of troops despite seizing scant ground in months of futile waves of assaults on Bakhmut.

☆ Ukraine Sees Signs of Russia Shifting Front-Line Firepower Away From Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( Alistair Macdonald | Photographs Joseph Sywenkyj For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

BAKHMUT, Ukraine—Russian troops have tempered their assault on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, Ukrainian commanders say, as stiff resistance forces Russian units to shift some of their firepower to surrounding areas. Some Ukrainian officers and British military intelligence say that Russia is no longer hitting Bakhmut—a city that has assumed outsize importance to both sides—with the same ferocity as they were last month. The Ukrainian commanders say Russia has instead repositioned armored vehicles and artillery fire toward the nearby town of Soledar.

[1/7] A rescuer rests at a site of a residential house damaged during a Russian missile strike, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 29, 2022. Waves of Russian air strikes in recent months targeting energy infrastructure have left millions without power and heating in often freezing temperatures. Moscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians, but Ukraine says its daily bombardment is destroying cities, towns, and the country's power, medical and other infrastructure. Ukraine and its Western allies have denounced Russia's actions as an imperialist-style land grab and imposed sanctions to try to disrupt the campaign. Russia is looking for a battlefield victory in eastern Ukraine and has been trying to capture Bakhmut for months.

☆ Russian attacks grind on in eastern Ukraine as Bakhmut is 'destroyed'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

An aerial view of Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest battles with the Russian troops, in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 9, 2022. Zelenskyy said the situation "remains very difficult" in several frontline cities in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. "The occupiers actually destroyed Bakhmut, another Donbas city that the Russian army turned into burnt ruins." He said Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in Donetsk and neighboring Luhansk. Taking Bakhmut would rupture Ukraine's supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press on toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk.

☆ Heaviest Ukraine fighting rages in the east, NATO seeks to sustain support against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

This brutalization of Ukraine’s people is barbaric,” Blinken told a news conference in Bucharest following a two-day NATO meeting. At the NATO foreign ministers meeting, allies Wednesday pledged to help Moldova, Georgia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as they face pressure from Russia, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and ministers said. Russia invaded Ukraine in February in what it calls a “special military operation” to rid Ukraine of nationalists it considers dangerous. “We are analyzing the intentions of the occupiers and preparing countermeasures — tougher countermeasures than is now the case,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address Wednesday evening. “We haven’t seen these Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles for about two weeks ... the first batch has probably already run out,” he told Ukraine’s main television network.

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