Kyiv: Russian forces have stepped up their assault on Ukrainian positions near the destroyed town of Bakhmut, according to Ukrainian officials, inflicting new levels of death and destruction in months of fierce fighting for control of eastern Ukraine. which is a part of the control of Moscow.

Everything is completely destroyed. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the region of Bakhmut and Soledar, a town near Donetsk province known for salt processing and mining, as almost no lives saved.

According to Zelensky, the bodies of the invaders and traces of the attacks lie on land close to Soledar. This is how madness appears.

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In audio reports posted on his Russian social media platforms late Tuesday, Dmitry Prigozhin, the head of Wagner Group, a private military contractor, claimed that his forces had taken control of Soledar and that fighting was still raging in the city center .

According to Britain's Ministry of Defence, Russian troops and troops from the Wagner Group advanced into Soledar, and "are likely to be in control of most of the settlement."

According to the ministry, the capture of Soledar, which is located 10 kilometers (6 mi) north of Bakhmut, was probably Moscow's immediate military goal and a component of the plan to encircle Bakhmut. On the other hand, it also stated that "the Ukrainian army maintains stable defensive lines in depth and control over supply routes in the region".

The Wagner group "has moved from a niche side of Russia's war to a major component of the conflict," a Western official said, adding that its forces now equal a quarter of Russian fighters.

The Kremlin, which invaded its neighbor 10 1/2 months ago but has experienced several setbacks, is desperate for success. Donetsk and three other Ukrainian provinces were illegally annexed by Russia in September, but its troops have found it difficult to advance.

Clashes in the area of Bakhmut escalated after Ukrainian forces retook the city of Kherson in November.

Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar claimed that Russia has sent "a large number of stormtrooper groups" into the battle for the city.

He claimed that the enemy was advancing "literally on the bodies of his own troops" and that they were being heavily attacked by artillery, rocket launchers and mortars. Pavlo Kirilenko, the Kyiv-appointed governor of the Donetsk region, on Tuesday described the Russian offensive on Soledar and Bakhmut as relentless.

Kyrylenko said in televised commentary that "the Russian military is turning Ukrainian cities into rubble using all types of weapons in its scorched earth strategy." "Russia is waging a war without conventions, killing and injuring civilians."

At a Ukrainian medical stabilization facility close to the front line in the Bakhmut region, wounded soldiers receive round-the-clock emergency care. On Monday, the medical personnel struggled for 30 minutes to save a jawan, but the damage was too much.

Another soldier's helmet was punctured by a fragment, causing a head injury. He was stabilized quickly enough by medical personnel for transfer to a military hospital.

"We fight to the bitter end to save a life," Kostyantin Vasilkevich, a surgeon and the center's coordinator, told The Associated Press. Obviously, it hurts when there is no hope for their survival.

Denis Pushilin, head of the Moscow-backed Donetsk occupation, said on Russian state television that if the city was captured, there would be "good chances" to take Bakhmut and Siversk, a town in the north where Ukrainian fortifications are "considerable". Serious ones too."

British intelligence reports state that the fighting near Bakhmut is unique because some of it took place near the entrance to abandoned salt mine tunnels that extend for some 200 kilometers (120 mi). According to the report, "Both sides are probably concerned that (the tunnels) could be used for infiltration behind their side of the border."

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Two signs emerged on Tuesday that officials in Russia are addressing military weaknesses exposed by the conflict in Ukraine.

Despite harsh criticism for his performance in some Russian circles, Russian President Vladimir Putin has confidence in Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, who said Tuesday that his military would use lessons learned in Ukraine to step up combat training.

According to Shoigu, artificial intelligence will be used to enhance military communication and control systems and soldiers will receive better tactical gear and equipment.

The second sign of trouble is Russia's ability to produce the weapons and other materials its armed forces require to fight in Ukraine. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of the Russian Security Council, issued a warning that officials who missed deadlines for such items might be prosecuted.

Last month, Putin named Medvedev to lead a new commission charged with addressing the military's supply issues. According to numerous reports, 

Russia is allegedly running low on some weapons and is sending some of its soldiers into combat without the proper gear. Keeping up with the weapons and supplies that Western allies are giving to Ukraine is one of the challenges facing the Kremlin.

One of the weapons Ukraine is about to receive is the Patriot surface-to-air guided missile defence system, and the Pentagon announced on Tuesday that about 100 Ukrainian troops will travel to Fort Sill in Oklahoma as early as next week to start receiving training on it. 

That will aid Ukraine in defending itself against missile attacks from Russia. Last month, the United States pledged one Patriot battery, and Germany added another system.

During a visit to Kharkiv, the second-largest city in Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced that her nation would also contribute 40 million euros ($43 million) to help with demining, energy infrastructure, and Internet connections.

In recent months, fierce fighting has taken place in a number of frontline cities in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces of eastern Ukraine. 

The Donbas, a large industrial region bordering Russia that Putin identified as a focal point from the beginning of the conflict and where Moscow-backed separatists have fought since 2014, is made up of the provinces collectively.

During the summer, Russia's arduous eastern offensive nearly completely occupied Luhansk. Donetsk managed to avoid the same fate, and as a result, Bakhmut received a lot of support from the Russian military.

By seizing Bakhmut, Russian forces would have access to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two important Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk, and would be able to cut off Ukraine's supply lines.

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Before Moscow launched massive strikes to shut down public utilities across Ukraine, Bakhmut, like Mariupol and other contested cities, endured a protracted siege without water and electricity.

The governor of the Donetsk region, Kyrylenko, estimated more than two months ago that since Moscow concentrated on capturing the entire Donbas, 90% of Bakhmut's prewar population of over 70,000 had departed.

According to the presidential office of Ukraine, between Monday and Tuesday's Russian shelling resulted in at least four civilian deaths and 30 additional injuries.

The governor of the southern Mykolaiv region, Vitaliy Kim, reported that Russian forces shelled the port of Ochakiv and the vicinity late on Monday and once more early on Tuesday. He reported that 15 people, including a toddler, were hurt