As the fighting has again exceeded a threshold of violence in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has promised to provide “everything necessary” to soldiers resisting Russian assaults in Soledar and Bakhmout, two towns that the Russia tries at all costs to conquer to change the course of the war.
Zelensky promises to do what is necessary to defend Soledar
“I want to emphasize that the units defending these cities will be supplied with ammunition and all the necessary in a rapid and uninterrupted manner,” Mr. Zelensky launched Thursday on Facebook after a meeting with his staff. The situation in Soledar has been “difficult” for the Ukrainian army for a few days and “the fiercest and most violent fighting continues today”, Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar had indicated earlier. On Friday morning, Ukraine claimed to contain a “high intensity” Russian offensive in Soledar.
Formerly known for its salt mines, Soledar is indeed located 15 km northeast of the city of Bakhmout that Russian forces have been trying to take for months. Andreï Baïevskiï, pro-Russian separatist MP for the Donetsk region, underlines for his part that the capture of Soledar would make it possible to “cut the Ukrainian supply lines” which make it possible to defend Bakhmout. Soledar “opens (also) possibilities of artillery fire in the direction of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka” further west, he still observed on Russian television.
The UN Security Council is also due to meet at 8:00 p.m. GMT on Friday to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
Russia has freed a former US Navy sailor
A former American soldier detained for nine months in Russia has been released, former American diplomat Bill Richardson announced Thursday to Agence France Presse, confirming information released in the American media including CNN. “Taylor Dudley was released from Russia today January 12, 2023” at a border post between Poland and Russia and is “on the way back”, said in a press release this former elected official and ambassador, specifying that the negotiations for his release had been done “discreetly”.
The United States remains “concerned” by the fate of former American soldier Paul Whelan, arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to sixteen years in prison for “espionage” despite his denials. “As we celebrate the return of Taylor, we remain very concerned about the fate of Paul Whelan and committed to working towards his return,” added Bill Richardson. Former US serviceman Paul Whelan was arrested in Russia in 2018 and sentenced to 16 years in prison for “espionage”, despite his denials.