Soledar is ‘Verdun for 21st century’, says Ukraine; hundreds of civilians trapped, including 15 children
Continue reading...Category Archives: Ukraine
Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv warns of threat of missile attacks from Belarus – as it happened
This live blog has now closed, you can read more of our coverage of the Russia-Ukraine war here
The Russian human rights commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova said both Moscow and Kyiv were interested in future contacts between their rights commissioners, the Russian state-owned Tass news agency has reported.
Following a meeting this week in Turkey with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, Moskalkova said she believed Ukraine had adopted a pragmatic approach to discussions between the two sides.
Continue reading...Putin’s military reshuffle is more about politics than a change of strategy
The Russian president may have put Gen Gerasimov in charge of the invasion to balance tensions between the army and the Wagner group
Another month, another Russian military reshuffle: Vladimir Putin changes the general in charge of his forces in Ukraine with something of the frequency of a Premier League club desperate to secure immediate success.
It is obvious that such inconsistency demonstrates that the Kremlin is dissatisfied with the conduct of the war but the decision to put Gen Valery Gerasimov, the head of the armed forces, in charge of the invasion is eye-catching for other reasons too.
Continue reading...Hundreds of civilians trapped in Soledar amid fierce fighting, Ukraine says
Donetsk governor says 559 civilians could not be evacuated, while Ukraine claims troops are ‘holding on’ to city
Hundreds of civilians remain trapped in Soledar, Ukraine has said, as bloody fighting continues over control of the largely destroyed salt mining town in eastern Ukraine.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk, told Ukrainian state TV that 559 civilians remained in Soledar, including 15 children, and could not be evacuated.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 323 of the invasion
Russian mercenaries make claim about missing Britons; Ukrainian military claims forces killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in single strike
Continue reading...Russia replaces general in charge of Ukraine war in latest military shake-up
Valery Gerasimov to replace Sergei Surovikin, who was appointed in October, as Zelenskiy mocks claims of Russian victory in Soledar
Russia has appointed Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership during the stumbling invasion of its neighbour.
In a statement on Wednesday, the defence ministry said that Gerasimov’s appointment constituted a “raising of the status of the leadership” of the military force in Ukraine and was implemented to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces”.
Continue reading...Ukraine military denies Russian forces have captured Soledar
Claims by Wagner mercenary group come as Poland announces transfer of German-made Leopard 2 tanks
Ukraine’s military has denied that Russian forces have encircled and captured Soledar after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group that the eastern city had fallen.
The claims about the status of the fighting on the eastern Donbas front were made by Yevgeny Prigozhin as Poland announced that it planned to transfer 10 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, in a move with wide significance.
Continue reading...Russian conscript sentenced to years in prison after rebelling against superiors
It is the first known ruling against a soldier who criticised Kremlin’s unpopular mobilisation
A Russian conscript has been sentenced to five and a half years in prison after getting into an altercation with his superiors over poor training conditions, in the first known ruling against a soldier who criticised the Kremlin’s unpopular mobilisation.
In a widely shared video filmed on 13 November, draftee Alexander Leshkov is seen shouting profanities and shoving Lt Col Denis Mazanov at a training ground outside Moscow.
Continue reading...Ukraine war pushes civilian casualties from explosive weapons to four-year high
Reported casualties in Ukraine were eight times more than Afghanistan – and real figure likely to be much higher
Civilian casualties from the use of explosive weapons soared by 83% last year because of the war in Ukraine, according to a monitoring organisation that counts the number of deaths caused by conflict and war.
Action on Armed Violence (AOVA) said the total number reported killed and injured in 2022 was 20,776, the highest level since 2018, with 10,381 casualties in Ukraine alone, based on reports from English language media.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war: Putin replaces general in charge of Russian forces in Ukraine – as it happened
This live blog has now closed, you can read more on this story here
Politico reports that Germany is facing pressure from France and Poland to supply Ukraine with the powerful Leopard 2 tanks.
Politico reports:
Supplying modern western tanks such as the Leopard 2 would be a big boost for Ukraine’s military, as Kyiv’s allies have so far only been willing to send older Soviet-era tanks that had still been in the stocks of eastern European countries, as well as other weapon systems such as howitzers and air defences.
A French official told Politico that Paris is turning the screws on Germany in the hope of extracting an agreement from Berlin to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine ahead of a Franco-German summit on January 22, the 60th anniversary of the Élysée partnership treaty between the two nations.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 322 of the invasion
Russia’s mercenary firm Wagner claims it has taken control of eastern salt mining town of Soledar
Continue reading...Head of Russia’s Wagner group says his troops have taken control of Soledar
Yevgeny Prigozhin poses with some of his mercenaries in Ukrainian town renowned for its salt mines
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has claimed his forces have completed the takeover of the Ukrainian town of Soledar, which if confirmed would mark Moscow’s first major battlefield success since last summer.
“Wagner units have taken the whole territory of Soledar under control,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message released on his Telegram channel late on Tuesday.
Continue reading...Family of Briton missing in Ukraine ‘very worried’ about him
Chris Parry and fellow Briton Andrew Bagshaw had been helping people evacuate from frontline
The family of one of the two British men missing in Ukraine have said they are “very worried” about his disappearance.
Chris Parry, 28, was last seen on Friday with fellow Briton Andrew Bagshaw, 48, heading to the town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine.
Continue reading...World Bank walking tightrope as it mulls increased lending to poorest
Campaigners say bank should rush to rescue countries facing recession – but can it do so without resulting in mass debt write-offs?
Not since the early 1990s has the world faced such a period of low growth.
Discounting the havoc caused by the financial crash of 2008 and the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the World Bank says that by the end of 2024 it will have been 30 years since the global economy grew at an average of less than 2% a year.
Continue reading...Family of Briton missing in Ukraine ‘very worried’; German foreign minister pledges more weapons – as it happened
Missing British men named as volunteers Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry; Annalena Baerbock makes surprise visit to Kharkiv. This live blog is now closed
The Russian energy ministry says it is working on additional measures to limit discounts to international benchmarks on Russian oil prices, Reuters reports. The move comes after the west imposed price caps.
Last month Vladimir Putin signed a decree that banned the supply of crude oil and oil products from 1 February for five months to nations that abide by the cap.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 321 of the invasion
Russia attempting another advance in Soledar; UK considering supplying small number of tanks to Ukraine
Continue reading...Two British men missing in Ukraine, says Foreign Office
Pair named in reports as Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry said to have been travelling from Kramatorsk to Soledar
Two British men have gone missing in Ukraine, the Foreign Office has said.
The families of both UK nationals were being supported after they disappeared, according to a statement released on Monday.
Continue reading...Russia renews ‘powerful assault’ on Soledar in Donetsk, says Ukrainian minister – as it happened
Bakhmut and Soledar under intense attack after Russian forces regroup and change tactics, Ukraine deputy defence minister says. This live blog is now closed
Here are the latest photos to come out of Ukraine:
This OpEd ran in the Washington Post over the weekend. Condoleezza Rice – former secretary of state and Robert M Gates, former secretary of defense, write:
Both of us have dealt with Putin on a number of occasions, and we are convinced he believes time is on his side: that he can wear down the Ukrainians and that U.S. and European unity and support for Ukraine will eventually erode and fracture. To be sure, the Russian economy and people will suffer as the war continues, but Russians have endured far worse.
Under current circumstances, any negotiated cease-fire would leave Russian forces in a strong position to resume their invasion whenever they are ready. That is unacceptable
The only way to avoid such a scenario is for the United States and its allies to urgently provide Ukraine with a dramatic increase in military supplies and capability — sufficient to deter a renewed Russian offensive and to enable Ukraine to push back Russian forces in the east and south.
Continue reading...Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 320 of the invasion
Moscow’s claim of killing 600 Ukrainian troops rejected by Kyiv; Ukrainian forces holding positions in Bakhmut under heavy attack, says Zelenskiy
Ukrainian forces are repelling constant attacks on Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region and holding their positions in nearby Soledar in arduous conditions, Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said. The Ukrainian president said in his Sunday night video address: “Bakhmut is holding on despite everything. And even though most of the town has been destroyed by Russian strikes, our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance. Soledar is holding on, even though there is even greater destruction and things are very difficult.”
Russia has claimed to have killed more than 600 Ukrainian troops in a “retaliatory strike” in the eastern town of Kramatorsk, but Ukraine’s armed forces rejected the claim. The mayor of the town, near the frontline city of Bakhmut, said there had been no deaths from strikes over the weekend, while a witness told Reuters on Sunday that buildings had been damaged but not destroyed and there were no obvious signs of casualties. The Russian claim seems suspicious for several reasons.
Zelenskiy denounced what he said was Russia’s failure to observe a 36-hour ceasefire it had declared for Orthodox Christmas by launching attacks on Ukrainian cities.
At least two people were killed during fighting in eastern Ukraine, officials said. Donetsk’s governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said one person was killed in strikes on Bakhmut and eight others in the region were wounded, Associated Press reported. Kyrylenko also said rocket attacks on Kramatorsk and Konstantynivka.
Russia and Belarus have expanded their joint military training exercises in Belarus, the country’s defence TV channel said on Sunday, as concern grows that Moscow is pressuring its closest ally to join the war in Ukraine. The two countries added weapons, soldiers and specialised equipment to the exercises, Reuters reported.
One person was killed from the attack on the Starobesheve power plant in Novyi Svit, Russia’s state news agency Tass said on Sunday. The thermal power plant was one of two – in part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region controlled by Russian forces – damaged in a rocket attack by the Ukrainian army, Moscow-installed officials said.
Demands for a special tribunal to investigate Russia for a “crime of aggression” against Ukraine have been backed by senior UK politicians from across the political divide in a move to show Vladimir Putin and his generals that they will be held to account.
The Russian government extended support to a legislative amendment that would classify maps that dispute the country’s official “territorial integrity” as punishable extremist materials, Reuters reported the state-owned Tass news agency as saying on Sunday.
About 50 Ukrainian soldiers who were released from Russian detention on Sunday as part of a prisoner swap posed for a photo on their release.
Continue reading...Russia and Belarus extend military drills amid fears of new push into Ukraine
Weapons, soldiers and equipment added to exercises, as concern grows Minsk is being pressured to join war
Russia and Belarus have expanded their joint military training exercises in Belarus, the country’s defence TV channel said on Sunday, as concern grows that Moscow is pressuring its closest ally to join the war in Ukraine.
The two countries added weapons, soldiers and specialised equipment to the exercises and were doing drills drawing on Russian experience in Ukraine, Reuters reported.
Continue reading...