War against Ukraine: That's the situation

Created: 01/11/2023 05:10

A civilian walks past badly damaged residential buildings in Soledar.

Members of the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner have announced the conquest of the place.

© Libkos/AP/dpa

Allegedly, the notorious Wagner mercenary group overran the hard-fought town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv is silent on this;

Ukrainian military observers are skeptical.

The news at a glance.

Kyiv - After days of heavy fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Soledar, members of the notorious Russian mercenary group Wagner have announced the conquest of the town.

According to the Russian state agency TASS, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed last night that Soledar had been conquered.

A group of Ukrainian soldiers was still surrounded in the center of the village.

Ukrainian military observers called the statement "cheap propaganda".

The Ukrainian units have withdrawn to new positions and there can be no question of an encirclement.

There was initially no official statement from the Ukrainian leadership.

The Russian military did not make an official statement either.

Part of the Ukrainian defensive wall

Around ten and a half months after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the fighting in the Donetsk region is currently particularly fierce.

The cities of Soledar and Bakhmut are of strategic importance: They are part of the Ukrainian defensive wall in front of the conurbation between Slovjansk and Kramatorsk.

From the Russian point of view, taking the territory would be a significant step towards conquering the entire Donbass - one of the Kremlin's war aims.

In addition to regular Russian troops, various mercenary units also fight at Soledar, including the notorious Wagner Group.

"The number of prisoners of war will be announced tomorrow," Prigozhin was quoted as saying on one of the Wagner channels on Telegram.

There it was also said that the surrounded Ukrainian soldiers had been given an ultimatum to surrender by midnight.

The information could not be independently verified.

There was no comment from the Ukrainian side.

Shortly before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had praised the defenders of Soledar for their courage and steadfastness in his daily video message.

"Thank you, warrior!" Zelenskyy said.

In the early evening, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar reported on violent assaults by Russian troops.

"Heavy fighting in defense of Soledar continues," she said on Telegram.

"Regardless of the losses, the enemy continues to attack." The front of the Ukrainian defense lines is "littered with the corpses of the attackers".

Over 500 civilians left in Soledar

More than 500 civilians are currently staying in Soledar, as the Ukrainian military administrator of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kirilenko, announced last night.

"Some of them would like to leave the city immediately, which is not possible at the moment because of the intense fighting," he said on television.

"Unless there is a safe way out of the city, there is no evacuation."

Zelenskyj expatriates pro-Russian MPs

Ukrainian President Zelenskyi expatriated four pro-Russian MPs.

"If people's representatives decide not to serve the Ukrainian people, but the murderers who have come to Ukraine, then our steps will be appropriate," the 44-year-old said in his daily video address yesterday.

According to the constitution, the expatriation was made on the basis of information from the secret service SBU and the migration service, said Zelenskyj.

"Our services work."

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My space

The Ukrainian passport was withdrawn from MP Viktor Medvechuk, who came to Russia in September as part of a prisoner exchange.

The other three affected are also suspected in the neighboring state.

All four represented the Opposition Platform - For Life party, which was banned after the Russian invasion of February 2022.

All four members of parliament are suspected to have Russian citizenship.

Under Zelenskyi's predecessor, Petro Poroshenko, and in the Soviet Union, expatriation of politically undesirable people was a common practice.

Pentagon: Training Ukrainians on US tanks in Grafenwoehr

The training of Ukrainian soldiers on the Bradley armored personnel carriers announced by the USA is to take place at the military training area in Grafenwoehr, Bavaria.

This was confirmed yesterday by Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder.

The United States announced last week that it would also provide 50 Bradleys as part of the latest arms deliveries to Ukraine.

The tanks are scheduled to arrive in Ukraine in the coming weeks, Ryder said.

The Pentagon had previously announced that around 100 Ukrainian soldiers would be trained on the Patriot anti-aircraft system at a military base in Oklahoma starting next week.

Ukraine is preparing for a possible new attack on Kyiv

The Ukrainian military is preparing for a new attack by Russian ground forces from Belarus in the direction of the capital Kyiv.

Defense positions in the north of the country have already been prepared or reinforced for this purpose, said Lieutenant General Oleksiy Pavlyuk, who is responsible for the defense of Kiev.

In order to prevent rapid tank advances by Russian units, larger minefields were laid at all points accessible to tanks.

What is important today

The Ukrainian military leadership may comment on the situation in Soledar with details.

dpa