Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday praised his forces after their claimed seize of a Ukraine city and within the wake of a missile strike that killed 23 individuals in a tower block.
The taking of Soledar in japanese Ukraine, a salt-mining outpost dwelling to 10,000 earlier than the battle, was hailed as a significant success by Moscow after months of humiliating setbacks on the battlefield.
“There’s a optimistic dynamic, all the things is creating in line with plans,” Putin mentioned, in an interview broadcasted Sunday. “I hope that our fighters will please us greater than as soon as once more.”
Russia’s Protection Ministry introduced this week that it had “accomplished the liberation” of Soledar.
This could possibly be a key achieve as Russian forces push in the direction of what has been their major goal since October — the close by transport crossroads of Bakhmut.
Ukraine denied the claims and mentioned heavy combating continued in Soledar.
On Sunday, the US-based Institute for the Examine of Conflict mentioned that “Ukrainian forces are extremely unlikely to nonetheless maintain positions inside the settlement of Soledar itself.”
Rivalries in Soledar
Either side have conceded heavy losses within the battle for the city, the place Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin insists his forces spearheaded the offensive.
The Russian Protection Ministry initially made no point out of Wagner when it claimed victory, solely later praising the “bravery” of Wagner’s troops in Soledar.
The nod was an uncommon recognition of the controversial drive following speak of infighting and rivalry between Wagner and the official navy.
Late Saturday, Prigozhin praised his mercenaries in a veiled jab at Russian military command, which has been criticized for poor coordination and being too far faraway from the bottom.
Prigozhin attributed Wagner’s victories to a “perfected system of command.”
“Everybody can specific his opinion,” Prigozhin claimed, “however as soon as a choice has been taken, all duties are fulfilled. It’s our group’s strictest self-discipline that provides us these prospects.”
Wagner, which has been accused of abuses within the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Syria and Ukraine, has recruited 1000’s of convicts to battle in Ukraine.
Strikes on Ukraine
This comes as Ukraine was nonetheless reeling Sunday from what was a twelfth wave of large-scale assaults on vitality infrastructure in latest months.
On Sunday, operator Ukrenergo mentioned vitality infrastructure was “being restored” however that the assaults had “elevated the vitality deficit.”
“The interval of outages might enhance,” it acknowledged.
The Russian military mentioned it focused “the navy command and associated vitality amenities… all targets have been reached.”
However Ukrainian officers denounced Russian “terror” after a tower block was hit throughout a large wave of strikes that induced energy outages throughout the nation.
Not less than 23 individuals have been killed and 72 others wounded within the assault on the Dnipro tower block, the town council mentioned.
A 15-year-old woman was among the many lifeless, officers mentioned, after dozens of individuals have been pulled from the rubble, together with a girl introduced out by rescuers on Sunday.
43 persons are nonetheless lacking, the council mentioned.
The Ukrainian military mentioned the block was hit by an X-22 Russian missile that it lacked the capability to shoot down.
“Solely anti-aircraft missile techniques, which sooner or later could also be offered to Ukraine by Western companions… are able to intercepting these air targets,” it mentioned.
British tanks
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday pleaded for extra Western navy weapons, saying that Russian “terror” could possibly be stopped solely on the battlefield.
“What is required for this? These weapons which might be within the warehouses of our companions,” Zelensky mentioned.
On Saturday, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pledged to supply Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, the primary Western nation to produce the heavy tanks Kyiv has been demanding.
The tanks would arrive in Ukraine within the coming weeks, Downing Road mentioned, including that Britain would additionally prepare the Ukrainian Armed Forces on tips on how to use them.
Russia’s embassy in Britain warned that “bringing tanks to the battle zone… will solely serve to accentuate fight operations, producing extra casualties, together with among the many civilian inhabitants.”
Moldova, Ukraine’s southwestern neighbor, mentioned it had discovered Russian missile particles on its territory after Saturday’s strikes.
“Russia’s brutal warfare in opposition to Ukraine straight impacts Moldova once more,” President Maia Sandu tweeted, posting images of the wreckage.
