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Destroyed buildings in Soledar
Photo:
ARIS MESSINIS / AFP
This article is continuously updated.
Situation report from Kyiv indicates loss of Soledar
10:22 a.m .:
According to their own statements, the Ukrainian military has repelled Russian attacks in 13 different places, but the small town of Soledar, which has recently been heavily contested, is not mentioned.
According to the General Staff situation report, units of the Ukrainian armed forces have repulsed "attacks by the occupiers" in various towns in the past 24 hours.
Other places such as Spirne or Bachmut in the Donetsk region are mentioned.
The message could indicate the loss of Soledar.
Previously, Russian units had reported the capture of the strategically important city north of Bakhmut.
London thinks another Russian attack from Belarus is unlikely
10.01 a.m .:
British secret services consider renewed Russian attacks from Belarus on Ukraine to be unlikely.
According to the daily short report by the British Ministry of Defense, the transfer of Russian military helicopters and the stationing of troops in Belarus is actually training, not preparation for an offensive.
Laypersons observed how a dozen different helicopters - some with the Russian "Z" symbol - recently landed at an airfield near the Belarusian capital Minsk, it is said.
There has been speculation for weeks about a renewed Russian attack from Belarus, where a joint air force maneuver by Belarusian and Russian troops has been announced for mid-January.
Putin confidant stripped of Ukrainian citizenship
9:43 a.m .:
The Ukrainian opposition politician and Putin confidante Viktor Medvedchuk and three other politicians have had their Ukrainian citizenship revoked.
"If the people's representatives decide not to serve the people of Ukraine, but to serve the murderers who have come to Ukraine, then we will act accordingly," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his late-night video address.
Medvechuk was head of the banned pro-Russian party "Opposition Platform - For Life".
He was accused of treason before coming to Russia in September 2022 as part of a prisoner swap.
Wagner mercenaries are said to have taken Soledar
9:22 a.m .:
According to their own statements, the Russian mercenary group Wagner has taken the embattled city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin spoke on social media about having "the entire area" under control.
At the same time, however, he spoke of ongoing fighting in the city center.
It was therefore unclear whether the Wagner group actually controlled the entire city area.
The information could not initially be independently verified.
Zelenskyj speaks at the Golden Globes
8:59 a.m .:
At the Golden Globes ceremony, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked for the support in the Ukraine war.
"The best in the past year, that was you," Zelenskyj said in a video message to the assembled Hollywood celebrities.
The Golden Globes were first awarded in 1943, when the Second World War was not yet over, but the most important battles had already been fought.
"Even the war in Ukraine is not over yet, but the tide is turning and it is already clear who will win in the end," said Zelenskyy.
Baerbock demands further arms deliveries to Kyiv
8.32 a.m .:
After her visit to the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed the need for further arms deliveries.
"Further tank deliveries" are needed in the region, said Baerbock in the ARD "Tagesthemen".
This is necessary so that “other places” can be liberated.
Most recently, Germany had announced the delivery of 40 Marder tanks, but there are demands to also deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv.
Baerbock, who conducted the interview via video link from a train on the way back from Ukraine, emphasized that Ukraine also needs “further air defense”, especially to protect infrastructure.
hba/AFP/dpa/Reuters
