Fierce battle at Soledar. Zelensky: What did Russia want to gain there?
The fiercest battles are taking place near the towns of Bahmut and Soledar in the Donetsk region. At the same time, information appeared that the Russians had managed to penetrate Soledar. Kiev has announced that it would send reinforcements to support the city's defenders. In the last 24 hours, Russian troops injured six civilians in the Donetsk region. Russia also attacked the Dnepropetrovsk region last night, where several buildings were damaged.
Over the past four days, the Russian army and Wagner mercenaries have made tactical advances in the small Donbas town of Soledar and are likely to be in control of a large part of the town. During the last day alone, 43 clashes took place in the city. Soledar is 10 km north of Bahmut, the capture of which continues to be an important objective for Moscow.
If Soledar is indeed occupied by Russian troops, this will create a serious threat to Bahmut, which could be encircled, military analysts say. Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the enemy concentrated its main efforts on the city of Soledar and called the situation there extremely difficult.
“What did Russia want to gain there? Everything is completely destroyed, there is almost no life left. And thousands of their men are lost: the whole land near Soledar is littered with the corpses of the invaders and with pits caused by the explosions. This is what madness looks like," said the president of Ukraine.
Zelensky also expressed confidence that the result of a difficult and long battle for Donbas would be its complete liberation from Russian troops. In the dead of winter, the population of eastern Ukraine suffers from the destruction of vital infrastructure and unrelenting shelling.
“There was a bang in the dark, then I think I passed out, I don't know how it happened. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on the ground.";
"A 13-year-old girl has shrapnel wounds to her neck. The child was transported to Kharkiv.";
"I was leaving the store and a shock wave hit me, I didn't understand what happened. I fell head down on the shards of glass.”
At least two people were killed and five others were injured during yesterday's attack on the market in the village of Shevchenkove, Kharkiv region. The bombardments resumed from the early hours of the morning. Russian troops hit two more towns in the Donetsk region with rockets - Konstantinovka and Kurahovka, destroying an industrial area and several houses.
