Fierce fighting in Ukraine's Soledar leaves battlefield strewn with corpses - Zelenskiy - Reuters UK

KYIV/SIVERSK, Ukraine, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Russia has stepped up a almighty battle connected Soledar successful eastbound Ukraine, officials successful Kyiv said, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks led by the Wagner declaration militia astir the brackish mining municipality and adjacent fronts.

Soledar, successful the concern Donbas region, lies a fewer miles from Bakhmut, wherever troops from some sides person been taking dense losses successful immoderate of the astir intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine astir 11 months ago.

Ukrainian forces repelled an earlier effort to instrumentality the municipality but a ample fig of Wagner Group units rapidly returned, deploying caller tactics and much soldiers nether dense artillery cover, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said connected Monday connected the Telegram messaging app.

"The force virtually measurement implicit the corpses of their ain soldiers, utilizing massed artillery, MLRS systems and mortars," Malyar said.

Russia's defence ministry did not notation either Soledar oregon Bakhmut successful a regular media briefing connected Monday, a time aft facing disapproval for an apparently mendacious claim of a rocket onslaught connected a impermanent Ukrainian barracks.

Wagner was founded by Yevgeny Prigozhin, an state of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Drawing immoderate recruits from Russia's prisons and known for uncompromising violence, it is progressive successful conflicts in Africa and has taken a salient relation successful Russia's warfare effort successful Ukraine.

Prigozhin has been trying to seizure Bakhmut and Soledar for months astatine the outgo of galore lives connected some sides. He said connected Saturday its significance laic successful a web of cavernous mining tunnels beneath the ground, which tin clasp large groups of radical arsenic good arsenic tanks and different warfare machines.

Ukrainian subject expert Oleh Zhdanov said warring successful Bahkmut and Soledar is "the astir aggravated connected the full frontline", with small advancement by either broadside successful the freezing conditions.

"So galore (pro-Russian fighters) stay connected the battlefield ... either dormant oregon wounded," helium said connected YouTube.

"They onslaught our positions successful waves, but the wounded arsenic a regularisation dice wherever they lie, either from vulnerability arsenic it is precise acold oregon from humor loss. No 1 is coming to assistance them oregon to cod the dormant from the battlefield."

Reuters could not instantly verify battlefield reports.

NO BUILDINGS INTACT

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said successful nightly video remarks connected Monday that Bakhmut and Soledar were holding connected contempt wide destruction.

He cited caller and fiercer attacks successful Soledar, wherever helium said nary walls person been near lasting and the onshore is covered with Russian corpses.

"Thanks to the resilience of our soldiers successful Soledar, we person won for Ukraine further clip and further strength," Zelenskiy said. He did not spell retired what helium meant by gaining clip oregon strength.

But Ukrainian officials, led by the commandant successful main General Valery Zaluzhniy, person warned that Russia is preparing caller troops for a new, large violative connected Ukraine, perchance connected the superior Kyiv.

Zelenskiy besides appears to beryllium banking connected securing more, blase weapons from Ukraine's Western partners to bushed disconnected attacks and yet expel Russian troops.

On Monday, helium pressed connected with diplomatic efforts, speaking to Petr Fiala, Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, existent seat of the 27-member European Union.

"I americium definite that our soldiers astatine the beforehand volition get these weapons and equipment. Very soon," helium said.

France, Germany and the United States each pledged past week to nonstop armoured warring vehicles, fulfilling a long-standing Ukrainian request. Britain is considering supplying Ukraine with tanks for the archetypal time, Sky News reported, citing a Western source. Britain's Defence Ministry did not comment.

Iran could beryllium contributing to warfare crimes successful Ukraine by providing drones to Russia, White House nationalist information advisor Jake Sullivan said connected Monday.

The United States has imposed sanctions connected companies and radical it accused of producing oregon transferring Iranian drones utilized by Russia. The White House said past week it is considering ways to people Iran's accumulation of the unmanned weaponised craft done sanctions and export controls.

WAVES OF ATTACK

Military analysts accidental the strategical subject payment for Russia of capturing Bakhmut and Soledar would be limited.

Taras Berezovets, a Ukrainian journalist, governmental commentator and serviceman successful the Ukrainian army, said capturing Soledar made small sense, but arsenic a idiosyncratic triumph for Prigozhin, nevertheless it would beryllium easier to instrumentality than Bakhmut.

"It's his idiosyncratic war," Berezovets said connected YouTube.

A U.S. authoritative has said Prigozhin is eyeing the brackish and gypsum from the mines, believed to widen implicit 100 miles underground and incorporate auditorium-scale caverns.

Berezovets said Ukrainian troops warring successful Bakhmut and Soledar accidental attacks travel successful waves of tiny groups, nary much than 15, with the archetypal question usually wiped out. The pro-Russian forces retrench and permission achromatic ribbons for the adjacent question to follow.

"The complexity of warring successful cities similar Bakhmut and Soledar is that it is hard to find who is with you and who is the enemy," helium said.

In an evacuee centre successful adjacent Kramatorsk, Olha, 60, said she had fled Soledar aft moving from flat to flat arsenic each was destroyed successful vessel battles.

"There isn't 1 location near intact. Apartments were burning, breaking successful half," said Olha, who gave lone her archetypal name.

Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Frank Jack Daniel, Doina Chiacu and Michael Perry; Editing by Grant McCool, Lincoln Feast and Himani Sarkar

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