As clashes escalate in Soledar, Russia’s new name is launching a campaign in Ukraine. LATEST UPDATES, Russia headlines and events

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has appointed Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov to lead the operation in Ukraine.

Both Gerasimov and Shoigu have been criticized by Russian hawks for a series of backlashes on the Ukrainian battlefield.

Shoigu’s message says that Gerasimov has been appointed commander of the joint forces involved in a special military operation in Ukraine.

Russia appointed Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “Armageddon Commander,” to lead Russian military operations in Ukraine in October after Ukraine turned the tide of the war with a series of counterattacks.

The Defense Ministry said that Surovikin would continue to act as Gerasimov’s deputy.

These changes are intended to increase the impact of military action in Ukraine, the statement said.

Intense struggle for the mining town of Soledar in Ukraine

Soledar is an important touchstone in Moscow’s struggle to capture the entire Donbass.

The Wagner mercenary group led an offensive that began yesterday and took control of a small salt-mining town, but noted that Ukrainian resistance continues in some areas in the center.

The Russian Ministry of Defense, on the other hand, reported that air units withdrew Soledar from the north, east and south.

However, the Ukrainian army denied the fact of the fall of Soledar and stated that the defense line had not been broken through. Commander of the Eastern Division of Ukraine Serhiy Cherevaty compared the brutality of the conflict with World War II in a statement to Ukrainian television.

The Kremlin has yet to declare victory at Soledar and has confirmed heavy casualties.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “Let’s not rush, let’s wait for official statements. The positive momentum continues.”

The Reuters news agency was also unable to independently confirm the situation in Soledar. The agency correspondent said that many residents of the city left the city in the cold, noting that smoke rises over the city, and artillery fire does not stop.

Russian army attacks Bakhmut

The Russian command seeks to use Soledar as a springboard to attack the city of Bakhmut, the center of Ukraine’s eastern supply chains.

A Reuters photojournalist noted that ambulances were waiting on the road between Soledar and Bakhmut to pick up the wounded, and chaos reigned in field hospitals.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also confirmed that success on the ground cost soldiers their lives.

Peskov added that Putin prefers diplomacy to war, but peace talks with Ukraine and the West are not in sight. Ukraine and Western countries consider Russia’s peace talks propaganda.

The RIA agency reported that the Wagner group captured the Soledar salt mines. The leader of the group and Putin’s ally Yevgeny Prigozhin shared photos of Wagner fighters inside the mine on his Telegram account.

Soledar will be the most significant gain for Russia since August after pulling back in the second half of 2022.

Denis Pushilin, the Russian leader of Donetsk, said that the capture of Soledar would double the chance of taking the cities of Bakhmut and Seversk, this would create a bridge to the cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, adding that this situation would create an expected opportunity for the complete capture of Donetsk.

On the other hand, the head of Kherson’s military administration in southern Ukraine said Russian troops continue to shell the regional capital, which they evacuated in November.

The statement states that over the past 24 hours, about 40 infrastructure facilities and many residential buildings have been destroyed, and a children’s hospital has been shelled.

On the other hand, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, who visited the Lviv region, drew attention to the situation on the Belarusian border and noted that although there is no strong structure here yet, it is necessary to be vigilant at the border and in the regions. near the border.

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