The fighting in the Ukraine war is concentrated in the east of the country. Defense against the Russian army is difficult in the Donetsk region. The news ticker.
- Heavy fights: Bakhmut is heavily contested in eastern Ukraine
- Eastern Ukraine: Wagner Group mercenaries advance in Donetsk
- Editor’s note: Read the latest developments from the Ukraine conflict in our news ticker. The information processed here Ukraine war come partly from the warring parties Russia and the Ukraine. They can therefore not be independently checked in part.
News on the Ukraine war: Russia has made Ukraine the “biggest minefield in the world”.
Update from Monday, January 9, 6:50 a.m.: According to Kyiv, the defenders in the Soledar area have found themselves in a difficult position during the fighting in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. “It’s difficult in Soledar at the moment,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on her Telegram channel on Sunday. Like Bakhmut, which has been contested for months, Soledar is part of the Ukrainian defensive wall in front of the conurbation between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Taking the agglomeration would be almost tantamount to conquering the Donbass – one of Russia’s publicly stated goals at the start of the war.
The Russians had concentrated large forces in front of Soledar. Not only regular units of the Russian army were involved in the attacks, but also mercenary troops, Maljar wrote. In fact, in the area around Bachmut and Soledar, the mercenaries of the “Wagner” troop, who are considered to be well equipped, attack.
Ukraine withstands fighting in Donbass – “One of the bloodiest places”
+++ 10.25 p.m.: Heavy fighting is raging in eastern Ukraine in particular. Nevertheless, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj sees no way for the Russian attackers. “Bachmut is holding out,” said the head of state in his daily video speech. The neighboring city of Soledar, which is also contested, is also holding out. According to the President, the situation there is even more devastated and difficult. “This is one of the bloodiest places on the front lines.”
According to Zelenskyj, Olexandr Syrskyj, the commander of the Ukrainian army, visited the troops in the two cities on Sunday. The aim was to direct the defense and organize reinforcements against the Russia. Syrskyj is considered a hero in Ukraine, who is credited with the successes in defending Kyiv and retaking the Kharkiv region.
Selenskyj repeatedly criticized the Russian shelling in the Donbass. The big city of Kramatorsk was during the Kremlin chief Wladimir Putin ordered ceasefire for the Orthodox Christmas. In Cherson, the Russian army used incendiary ammunition immediately after the end of the holiday. Putin had previously ordered a 36-hour unilateral ceasefire. According to Ukrainian information, this was broken after just a few hours.
News about the Ukraine war: Russia wants to build Iranian drones itself
+++ 9 p.m.: Die Speculations about arms deliveries from Iran gain weight Now Russia apparently also wants to produce Iranian-design drones itself in the city of Tolyatti in the Samara region. At least that is the assumption of Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine. “We know the location, one of them is called Tolyatti,” Danilov said in a televised address.
“Our enlightenment works perfectly for many questions,” quoted UKrinform the secretary. That’s why we know what steps Russia is planning. However, many companies would refuse to supply the necessary components for the drones. So far it is unclear how these are to be replaced. Russia has so far used about 660 of the 1,750 Iranian drones ordered, estimated Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service.
Preparing for war? Belarus plans military exercises with Russia
+++ 7.45 p.m.: In view of the war in Ukraine, Belarus wants to hold a two-week air force maneuver together with Russian armed forces starting in mid-January, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry. “From January 16 to February 1, 2023, collective air tactical exercises of the armed forces of Belarus and Russia will be held,” the ministry wrote on the short message service Telegram. All airfields and military training areas of the Air Force and anti-aircraft defense in Belarus are to be used.
Russia and Belarus formed a joint task force back in the fall. According to official information, it is intended to protect the external borders. 9000 Russian soldiers are stationed in Belarus. Ruler Alexander Lukashenko only visited the troops on Friday.
Ukraine War News: Civilian Hospitals Removed From “Map”
+++ 6.30 p.m.: Russia has “wiped off the map” numerous medical facilities, according to Ukrainian sources The Kyiv Independent the Ukrainian regional administration in Luhansk. The occupiers had succeeded in building their own “logistical network of hospitals” – primarily for their own military. The maternity ward in Antrazyt was recently closed and converted into a military hospital.
The Russian army has reportedly attacked maternity hospitals in several Ukrainian regions in recent months. The latest shelling was reported in Kherson at the end of December.
News on the Ukraine war: Russian mercenaries are advancing in the east
+++ 5 p.m.: Heavy fighting continues to rage in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv has now acknowledged problems with defense. Russian troops are currently concentrating on reaching the border areas of the Donetsk region. “The situation is difficult in the east. We are slowly advancing on some sections of Donetsk Oblast,” Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar told Telegram. In turn, Russian troops would advance on some sections, especially mercenaries from the Wagner troops.
The situation is particularly difficult in the Soledar area. Like Bakhmut, which has been contested for months, the city is part of the Ukrainian defensive wall in front of the conurbation between Slovjansk and Kramatorsk. Taking the territories would be almost tantamount to conquering the Donbass.
News about the Ukraine war: Russia fires at Cherson with incendiary ammunition
+++ 1.30 p.m.: The Russian military fired incendiary ammunition on the city of Cherson on Sunday night (January 8), as the head of the Cherson Oblast, Yaroslav Yanushevich, reported on Telegram. The use of incendiary ammunition is not fundamentally prohibited under international law, but it is outlawed and only permitted in a few exceptional cases. In particular, it may not be used against civilians. “Fortunately, this attack by the Russians resulted in no civilian casualties and no destruction of infrastructure,” said Yanushevich.
Ukraine war news: 250,000 square kilometer minefield in Ukraine
Update from Sunday, January 8th, 6.40 a.m.: According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Schmyhal, the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has created a 250,000 square kilometer minefield in his country. “It is currently the largest minefield in the world,” Schmyhal said in an interview with South Korea’s Yonhap news agency published on Saturday.
According to Schmyhal, the mined area corresponds to more than 40 percent of the entire land area of Ukraine. “Not only does this make it difficult for people to travel, but it also causes major disruption to agriculture, which is one of our main industries,” the prime minister said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian National Resistance Center reports that Russia may blow up the Svatove dam in the Luhansk region to slow Ukrainian advances. Russian forces may use the possible blowing up of the dam as a “pretext for deporting the local population” and try to blame Ukraine for blowing up the dam, the National Resistance Center wrote.
News about the Ukraine war: mobilization in Belarus – Lukashenko just “press the button”
Update from Saturday, January 7th, 7.30 a.m.: Concerns are growing among the Belarusian opposition about a possible mobilization in their country in support of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The opposition politician Pawel Latuschka, who lives in exile in Warsaw, told him RND this Saturday, the preparations for this are well advanced. The Belarusian ruler Alexander Lukashenko only needs to press the button on orders from the Kremlin to start mobilizing. Former Belarusian culture minister Latushka is a member of opposition leader Svetlana Tichanovskaya’s cabinet in exile.
News about the Ukraine war: Russian ship on the way to “coasts of NATO countries”
+++ 15.20: The Russian Navy’s frigate “Admiral Gorshkov”, armed with “Zirkon” hypersonic missiles, is currently heading into the Atlantic Ocean. According to Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, the ship is on its way to the “coasts of the NATO countries”. This is reported by the Ukrainian Navy Facebook.
News in the Ukraine war: Kyiv rejects temporary ceasefire
First report from Thursday, January 5th: Kyiv/Moscow – The Ukrainian government in Kyiv has no interest in a short-term ceasefire in the Ukraine war. This was announced by the office of President Volyodmyr Zelenskyy. The call by Kirill, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, for a ceasefire between Russian and Ukrainian troops for the Orthodox Christmas celebrations is rejected. “It is a cynical trap and an element of propaganda,” wrote Presidential Office Adviser Mykhailo Podoliak on Thursday (January 5). Twitter.
The Russian Orthodox Church is also not an authority in global orthodoxy and only acts as a “war propagandist”. Podoliak accused the Moscow Patriarchate of calling for genocide against the Ukrainian people.
Previously, the Russian patriarch Kirill both sides in the “internal conflict” to a ceasefire accessed on Friday (January 6th) and Saturday (January 7th). According to the Orthodox Church calendar followed in Ukraine and Russia, Friday is Christmas Eve and Saturday is Christmas Day. (nak/kas/dpa)