Russia renews ‘powerful assault’ on Soledar in Donetsk, says Ukrainian minister – as it happened
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Bakhmut and Soledar under intense attack after Russian forces regroup and change tactics, Ukraine deputy defence minister says. This live blog is now closed
Russia resumes ‘powerful assault’ on Soledar in Donetsk, says Ukrainian minister
Russian troops are making another attempt to advance on the town of Soledar in the eastern Donbas region, according to Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar.
In a statement on Telegram, Maliar said:
After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Soledar and retreat, the enemy regrouped their forces, replenished losses, redeployed additional assault units, changed tactics and launched a powerful assault.
Bakhmut and the neighbouring town of Soledar have been the focus of intense efforts by Moscow, spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group, to make progress in an area where Russian forces have been trying desperately to advance since early summer.
In recent days, Russian attacks have focused on Soledar in an apparent effort to cut off the town. Russian forces have engaged a large number of assault groups formed out of the best reserves of the Wagner group, Maliar said.
She added:
The enemy is advancing literally on the corpses of their own soldiers, massively using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, covering even their own fighters with fire.
Two British men have gone missing in Ukraine, the Foreign Office has said. The men were named in reports as volunteers Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry. The pair were last known to have been travelling from Kramatorsk to Soledar on 6 January, according to Sky News.
Russian troops are making another attempt to advance on the town of Soledar in the eastern Donbas region, according to Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar. “After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Soledar and retreat, the enemy regrouped their forces, replenished losses, redeployed additional assault units, changed tactics and launched a powerful assault,” she wrote on Telegram. Russian attacks in recent days have focused on Soledar in an apparent effort to cut off the town. The capture of Soledar, which lies to the north-east of Bakhmut, would put Ukrainian forces in the area in danger of being encircled and offer Russia a potential avenue of approach against that city.
Ukraine is reinforcing its positions around Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region, after days of relentless assaults by Russian forces spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group. Bakhmut and the neighbouring town of Soledar have been the focus of intense efforts by Moscow to make progress in an area where Russian forces have been trying desperately to advance since early summer.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction after months of attacks. “Our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance,” Ukraine’s president said in nightly video remarks on Sunday. In Soledar “things are very difficult”, he added.
Two women have been killed and six people injured, including a 10-year-old girl, after a Russian missile attack on a market in a village in eastern Ukraine on Monday morning, officials said. A 60-year-old was among two women killed after the missile slammed into the village market in Shevchenkove, about 80km (50 miles) south-east of the city of Kharkiv, regional prosecutors said.
Strong doubts have emerged over Russian claims to have killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers in barracks in Kramatorsk. Journalists visiting the city were unable to find evidence of large-scale casualties. However, the Kremlin said it was confident its defence ministry was correct when it said 600 Ukrainian service personnel had been “destroyed” in the attack.
The Kremlin has rejected a Ukrainian assertion that a senior Russian official has been floating the idea of a potential peace deal over Ukraine with European officials. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, told the country’s public broadcaster on Thursday that Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, had been holding meetings with European officials in an attempt to force Kyiv to sign what he characterised as an unfavourable peace deal.
Britain is considering supplying a handful of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, the first time a western country has indicated it may supply its homemade heavy armour to Kyiv in the war against Russia. No final decision by Downing Street has been made, British sources added, but Ukraine is hoping a positive move by the UK could help persuade Germany to follow suit later this month with its Leopard 2 battle tanks.
Germany has no plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a government spokesperson has said. Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, said on Sunday that Berlin could not rule out the delivery of Leopard tanks – which are heavier fighting vehicles than the Marders – to support Ukrainian military forces in the future.
Italy will not make a decision on supplying new arms to Ukraine until next month, according to a report. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni faces resistance to the approval of a decree to send arms to Ukraine from her allies Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi, la Repubblica reported, as well as issues over cost considerations and military shortages.
China’s newly appointed foreign minister, Qin Gang, spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss the “crisis” in Ukraine, the Chinese foreign ministry said. The ministry said Qin called for efforts to peacefully settle the crisis in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner will meet his Russian counterpart for talks in Turkey this week, news agencies from both countries reported. Tatiana Moskalkova, the Russian commissioner, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that the meeting with Ukraine’s Dmytro Lubinets will take place during an international forum in Turkey between Thursday and Saturday. Talks are likely to include the possibility of further exchanges of prisoners of war.
Poland’s president, Andrzej Duda, is meeting with the prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, and some of his ministers to discuss security issues amid the war in Ukraine, according to a presidential aide.
On the agenda is Ukraine’s request for delivery of western-made heavy battle banks including the German-made Leopard 2 tanks, Pawel Szrot said.
He said Warsaw would only decide to hand over a limited number of Leopard tanks if it would “only be within a wide agreement and an undertaking by other countries that have these tanks”.
Such decisions also need to take Poland’s security into account, he added.
Morawiecki on Saturday said he and Duda were involved in “wider coalition” international talks regarding heavy tanks for Ukraine, but that Warsaw would not proceed with potential deliveries alone.
Russia resumes ‘powerful assault’ on Soledar in Donetsk, says Ukrainian minister
Russian troops are making another attempt to advance on the town of Soledar in the eastern Donbas region, according to Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar.
In a statement on Telegram, Maliar said:
After an unsuccessful attempt to capture Soledar and retreat, the enemy regrouped their forces, replenished losses, redeployed additional assault units, changed tactics and launched a powerful assault.
Bakhmut and the neighbouring town of Soledar have been the focus of intense efforts by Moscow, spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group, to make progress in an area where Russian forces have been trying desperately to advance since early summer.
In recent days, Russian attacks have focused on Soledar in an apparent effort to cut off the town. Russian forces have engaged a large number of assault groups formed out of the best reserves of the Wagner group, Maliar said.
She added:
The enemy is advancing literally on the corpses of their own soldiers, massively using artillery, multiple rocket launchers and mortars, covering even their own fighters with fire.
China’s newly appointed foreign minister, Qin Gang, spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, to discuss the “crisis” in Ukraine, the Chinese foreign ministry said.
A statement by the ministry posted on its website reads:
A previously scheduled telephone conversation between Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang and Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov was held on 9 January … Both sides exchanged their opinions regarding the Ukrainian crisis.
The ministry said Qin called for efforts to peacefully settle the crisis in Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry said the pair “agreed that the policy of the US and its satellites of establishing a hegemony in global affairs” was “unacceptable”.
Ukraine’s human rights commissioner will meet his Russian counterpart for talks in Turkey this week, news agencies from both countries reported.
Tatiana Moskalkova, the Russian commissioner, was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that the meeting with Ukraine’s Dmytro Lubinets will take place during an international forum in Turkey between Thursday and Saturday.
Talks are likely to include the possibility of further exchanges of prisoners of war. Ukraine’s Ukrinform news agency quoted Lubinets as saying the main issue was “the return of our heroes and heroines”.
Lubinets was quoted as saying:
Separately, we want to raise the issue of the return of civilian hostages, whom the Russian Federation has detained en masse in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine and whom it does not allow to go home.
Two people were killed and five others wounded, including a 13-year-old girl, after a Russian rocket hit a village market in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials said.
Video posted by Ukraine’s presidential office showed ruined pavilions, some of them still on fire, and rubble all around. In drone footage, badly wounded people could be seen on the ground, rescue workers sifting through rubble, and a large crater.
According to Ukrainian officials, more people could be trapped under the debris.
Footage shows aftermath of Russian strike on Ukrainian village market – video
Britain is considering supplying a handful of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, the first time a western country has indicated it may supply its homemade heavy armour to Kyiv in the war against Russia.
No final decision by Downing Street has been made, British sources added, but Ukraine is hoping a positive move by the UK could help persuade Germany to follow suit later this month with its Leopard 2 battle tanks.
Ukraine has been asking for British tanks “since summer”, a second source said. But the reality is that the UK, with a total fleet of 227, has a small supply compared with the number made by Germany and the US.
An initial report from Sky News suggested the UK was considering supplying about 10 Challenger 2s, only a fraction of the 300 Kyiv wants as it tries to build up a mechanised force in pursuit of victory after more than 10 months of war.
There are about 2,000 Leopard 2s in service in Europe with 13 different countries, but because they were originally made in Germany, the approval of Berlin would be required if any are to be re-exported to Ukraine.
Western countries have already announced a step-up in their military aid to Ukraine this year. Last week, the US and Germany said they would provide 50 Bradley and 40 Marder fighting vehicles respectively.
A Foreign Office spokesperson has confirmed reports that two British nationals have gone missing in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine, BBC News has reported.
The spokesperson said:
We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.
Ukraine is reinforcing its positions around Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region, after days of relentless assaults by Russian forces spearheaded by the Wagner mercenary group. Bakhmut and the neighbouring town of Soledar have been the focus of intense efforts by Moscow to make progress in an area where Russian forces have been trying desperately to advance since early summer.
Russian attacks in recent days have focused on Soledar in an apparent effort to cut off the town. The capture of Soledar, which lies to the north-east of Bakhmut, would put Ukrainian forces in the area in danger of being encircled and offer Russia a potential avenue of approach against that city.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction after months of attacks. “Our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance,” Ukraine’s president said in nightly video remarks on Sunday. In Soledar “things are very difficult”, he added.
Two women have been killed and six people injured, including a 10-year-old girl, after a Russian missile attack on a market in a village in eastern Ukraine on Monday morning, officials said. A 60-year-old was among two women killed after the missile slammed into the village market in Shevchenkove, about 80km (50 miles) south-east of the city of Kharkiv, regional prosecutors said.
Strong doubts have emerged over Russian claims to have killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers in barracks in Kramatorsk. Journalists visiting the city were unable to find evidence of large-scale casualties. However, the Kremlin said it was confident its defence ministry was correct when it said 600 Ukrainian service personnel had been “destroyed” in the attack.
The Kremlin has rejected a Ukrainian assertion that a senior Russian official has been floating the idea of a potential peace deal over Ukraine with European officials. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s national security and defence council, told the country’s public broadcaster on Thursday that Dmitry Kozak, deputy head of Russia’s presidential administration, had been holding meetings with European officials in an attempt to force Kyiv to sign what he characterised as an unfavourable peace deal.
The UK is reportedly considering supplying Ukraine with British battle tanks for the first time to help its army fight Russia. Discussions have been taking place “for a few weeks” about delivering a number of the British army’s Challenger 2 main battle tanks, Sky News reported, citing a western source with knowledge of the conversations.
Germany has no plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a government spokesperson has said. Robert Habeck, Germany’s economy minister, said on Sunday that Berlin could not rule out the delivery of Leopard tanks – which are heavier fighting vehicles than the Marders – to support Ukrainian military forces in the future.
Italy will not make a decision on supplying new arms to Ukraine until next month, according to a report. Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni faces resistance to the approval of a decree to send arms to Ukraine from her allies Matteo Salvini and Silvio Berlusconi, la Repubblica reported, as well as issues over cost considerations and military shortages.
Two British volunteers, Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, were reported missing by police who have said they have lost contact. The pair were last known to have been travelling from Kramatorsk to Soledar on 6 January, reports Sky News. Officers in Donetsk have said they are carrying out investigative and operational measures to establish their location.
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said he spent New Year’s Eve in a punishment cell after being transferred there for washing his face too early. In a message posted on Twitter via his lawyer, Navalny said he had been sent back to the cell for the 10th time in the last year because a “surveillance operator noticed that you washed your face at 5:24 in the morning, while according to the schedule you wake up at 5:00 and wash at 6:00”.
A cargo vessel carrying Ukrainian grain briefly ran aground in the Suez canal before being refloated and towed away, according to the Egyptian authority running the vital waterway. The incident,involving the 225-metre Marshall Islands-registered M/V Glory, had sparked fears of a repeat of a blockage in 2021, when the large container ship Ever Given became diagonally wedged in the canal.
Hello everyone, it’s Léonie Chao-Fong still with you today with all the latest from the Russia-Ukraine war. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.
Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny said he spent New Year’s Eve in a punishment cell after being transferred there for washing his face too early.
In a message posted on Twitter via his lawyer, Navalny said he had been sent back to the cell for the 10th time in the last year.
He said he had been sentenced to the cell for a maximum term of 15 days because a “surveillance operator noticed that you washed your face at 5:24 in the morning, while according to the schedule you wake up at 5:00 and wash at 6:00”.
1/9 I did manage to earn my tenth term in the punishment cell in the last year after all. My prison goons actually bothered enough to convene their commission on the weekend of December 31 especially for me.
Thus my plans for a fancy New Year were ruined: I had saved a packet of potato chips and a can of saury for it. So I spent the New Year in the ShIZO [punishment cell] with my old friends: a bum (who was sad) and a psycho (who was howling and shouting behind the door).
He said he was “pleased” as “people pay money to celebrate New Year in some unusual way, and I got that for free”.
5/9 New Year in the ShIZO is like any other day: getting up at 5 and going to bed at 21. So for the first time since I was six years old I just slept the whole New Year night.
