After Mariupol, Zaporijjia and Bakhmout, it is towards solder that the eyes of the world are on Ukraine. This Saturday, the day of the Orthodox New Year, the small town in the east of the country is still at the heart of a fierce battle between the forces of kyiv and Moscow, which both say they have control of it.
What to make of Soledar, according to the governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrlenko, one of the “hottest” points of the conflict, while the fighting have grown in intensity inside and outside the city in recent days.
Nearby, rescue teams treat wounded Ukrainians evacuated from the front line. “The situation is difficult, but the Ukrainians are holding their positions,” assured Vadim, a first aider, who was helping to evacuate a soldier with a leg injury.
VIDEO. War in Ukraine: in Soledar “the intensity of the bombardments has increased by 70%”
In the Russian camp, the Ministry of Defense claims that the city was “liberated” on the evening of January 12, thanks to the help of the group of mercenaries Wagner. A catch, if proven, which would be essential for Moscow, after a series of failures on the ground. And a first symbolic victory to claim for the brand new commander of the Russian offensive, Valery Gerasimovwhose appointment by Vladimir Putin is supposed to sign a new era in the conflict.
New strikes in the rest of the country
At the same time, Russian forces continued firing missiles against critical infrastructure, including electricity, in kyiv, but also in the south, north and east of the country. According to the governor of the capital, 28 residential buildings were damaged by the Russian strikes in the morning, without causing any injuries.
In Dnipro, in the east of the country, an initial assessment reported at least nine dead and nearly 64 injured, including 14 children, after a strike on a residential building. The strikes also led to power cuts in most Ukrainian regions.
To deal with the Russian fire, the UK promised to send Challenger 2 heavy tanks towards kyiv. A rare announcement, seen as “a good signal” by President Volodymyr Zelensky: before that, only Poland had said it was ready to send Leopard 2 heavy tanks, subject to Germany’s approval.
At the same time, the trail of mediation is looming in Ankara: one of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s advisers has said he wants to “push”, with Ukraine and Russia, “in favor of local ceasefires and small-scale de-escalation”. Neither of the two countries “is in a position to win militarily”, slipped Ibrahim Kalin, saying he was convinced “that in the end, they will have to negotiate to reach an acceptable outcome” for both parties.