After a series of Russian setbacks in eastern Ukraine, Russia now seems to have had success in the last 24 hours in the town of Soledar outside the disputed Bakhmut in Ukraine. According to the British Ministry of Defence, Russian forces are now to control parts of Soledar.
The fighting for Bachmut, which was largely destroyed by Russian bombardment, has been going on for weeks. The fighting is intense, deadlocked and very deadly in the towns around the city.
President Zelensky described the situation in and around Soledar with horror:
– Everything is completely destroyed. There is almost no life left, he said in an evening address to the nation, and continued:
– The ground around Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers, the ground is covered with scars from (Russian) attacks.
High price for success
The advances take place at the expense of great loss of human life. Reports from the front line are horrific. The American news agency AP’s emissary describes how wounded Ukrainian soldiers are cared for. For half an hour, Ukrainian soldiers fought to get to a wounded comrade. But once they took care of him, it was too late.
– The Russian military has crushed Ukrainian cities to rubble, it uses all kinds of weapons in a scorched earth tactic. Russia is waging a war without rules, which leads to large civilian losses, said Pavlo Kyrlenko, who is Kiev’s appointed governor of Donetsk, in a televised appearance.
See more in the player above