Kyiv: More than 500 civilians, including children, were trapped in the eastern salt mining town of Soledar, where Ukraine claimed its troops were fending off pro-Moscow forces.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, thanked two units in Soledar on Thursday for "holding their positions and inflicting significant losses on the enemy" in a video address. He made no further explanations.
In the eastern industrial region known as the Donbas, Zelensky claimed that he and senior Ukrainian commanders assessed the need for reinforcements in Soledar and neighbouring towns, as well as the best course of action for the ensuing days.
An ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin's ultra-nationalist contract militia Wagner Group claimed to have taken Soledar after fierce fighting that it claimed left the town littered with Ukrainian bodies.
Despite the fact that this would be Moscow's first significant victory in six months, Moscow has not yet made an official declaration of victory. Local politician Andrei Bayevsky, who was brought in from Russia, stated in an online broadcast that "there are still some small pockets of resistance in Soledar at the moment."
In Soledar, which had a pre-war population of about 10,000 people, 559 civilians remained, including 15 children, according to Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, who spoke to Ukrainian state television.
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A medical evacuation from Soledar by Ukrainian soldiers was captured on drone video, which Reuters was able to view. The footage showed deserted streets with only a few derelict buildings still standing among torched trees and smouldering rubble. Outside of Soledar, a 24-year-old Ukrainian soldier said: "The situation is difficult but stable. We're fighting back while keeping the enemy at bay.
Even if that were the case, US officials questioned the significance of a Russian victory in Soledar. Soledar is located less than 10 kilometres (6 miles) northeast of Bakhmut, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles of the war known as the "meat grinder" that has raged for months.
According to John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, "even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, it's not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself, and it certainly isn't going to stop the Ukrainians or slow them down."
If Russia managed to take Soledar, it would probably use that advantage to step up its attack on Bakhmut. The vast salt mines in Soledar may prove to be a commercially advantageous asset.
A day after Valery Gerasimov, the head of the military's general staff, was unexpectedly given direct command of the invasion, observers of the Kremlin were looking at Russia's most recent change in the command structure on the battlefield. Army General Sergei Surovikin, the previous commander with a three-month term, was essentially demoted to become one of Gerasimov's three deputies. Moscow cited the campaign's increasing significance as the reason for the decision, which marked at least the third abrupt change of the top commander in the 11-month conflict.
Since Russia's most significant retreat in the south two months ago, the front lines in Ukraine have hardly moved. Kyiv hopes that its Western allies' heavy armour will enable it to resume its advances.
The US Patriot missile system and other cutting-edge weapons are now being offered to Kyiv by Western nations. Battle tanks have been the focus of Ukraine's most recent requests, while last week's pledges from the United States, Germany, and France included armoured fighting vehicles.
14 Leopard battle tanks made in Germany were promised to Ukraine by Polish President Andrzej Duda. Zelensky stated that this could open the door for other nations to follow suit in an interview with TVP Info, a state-run broadcaster in Poland. Tanks could be sent, according to Britain.
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On February 24, Putin declared war, claiming that the security of Russia was threatened by Kyiv's ties to the West. It is referred to as an unprovoked war to seize territory by Ukraine and its allies.