Today, Thursday, a new day of fighting begins in the Russian military operation in Ukraine, where parts of the Russian army are trying to establish control over the Ukrainian regions, strike at areas of concentration of Kyiv troops and their weapons depots, and Ukrainian forces are resisting in an attempt to return their lands under military and logistical support from the West.
In recent developments, sources on the ground said the Ukrainian army is sending more soldiers to the Solidar front to take out the Wagner fighters, adding that very violent clashes are taking place between the two sides.
And the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine stated that the Russian army suffers heavy losses in equipment and life in this direction.
On the other hand, Vladimir Novikov, commander of the Troy special forces detachment, said that Russian forces were carrying out an operation to comb the city of Solidar and its environs. It is too early to talk about the number of Ukrainian soldiers stranded.
“Ukrainian soldiers are hiding in basements”
“The Ukrainian military are hiding in basements and residential buildings – only after the completion of the entire survey will it be possible to deal with the dead and prisoners,” he added.
Solidar will become a springboard in Moscow’s quest to seize the entire eastern industrial region of Donbass.
Earlier, the commander of the Akhmat special unit, Apti Alaudinov, said that Russian forces had begun combing Solidar.
And the head of the Russian military company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday evening that Solidar, which has seen fierce fighting in recent days, is controlled by Wagner fighters. He confirmed that his fighters completely liberated the city of Solidar in eastern Ukraine and destroyed about 500 soldiers loyal to Kyiv. In a statement, he added: “The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers.”
Prior to Wagner’s announcement, the Kremlin had refrained from declaring victory and acknowledged heavy losses.
massive destruction
Space images published by the American company Maxar Technologies showed the extent of the destruction caused by fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces around the neighboring cities of Solidar and Bakhmut on the front line in eastern Ukraine.
Russia has targeted Solidar as a launching pad for an attack on the nearby town of Bakhmut, which has resisted Russian forces for months and is the hub of supply routes in eastern Ukraine.
On Wednesday, Russia ordered its top general to take charge of its invasion of a reeling Ukraine, in the biggest reorganization of its military command structure after months of battlefield setbacks.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as Commander-in-Chief of the Special Military Operation in Ukraine.
The move not only placed Gerasimov directly responsible for the fate of the operation, but effectively demoted General Sergei Surovikin, dubbed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media because of his reputation for ruthlessness.
Modification of the Russian command structure
The defense ministry said in a statement that the reshuffling was aimed at improving communication between the various branches of the military, as well as the “quality and efficiency” of the command structure.
And Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a visit to Ukraine that his country is ready to supply Kyiv with fourteen modern heavy tanks of the Leopard-2 type, provided that this happens within the framework of an international alliance that is currently under construction.
The President of Poland indicated that he expects other countries to contribute to the supply of these tanks.
In turn, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausida said that his country would also send Zenith anti-aircraft systems with ammunition to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed his Polish counterpart’s announcement, saying his country was awaiting a “joint decision” involving additional countries willing to send Leopard tanks.
