January 11, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news - CNN

As the combat for power of the eastbound Ukrainian towns of Soledar and Bakhmut continues, recently collected high-resolution outer images from Maxar Technology assistance exemplify the magnitude and strength of the battle:

Satellite imagery shows destroyed flat buildings and homes successful Soledar connected January 3, 2022. (Maxar Technologies)

Satellite imagery shows destroyed buildings successful Soledar connected January 3, 2022. (Maxar Technologies)

Satellite imagery shows a destroyed shows a destroyed schoolhouse successful Soledar connected January 3, 2022. (Maxar Technologies)

Some background. Soledar, a brackish excavation municipality successful Ukraine's eastbound Donetsk region, has been the tract of aggravated warring successful caller days and a people for Russian forces since past May. The caput of Russia's backstage subject institution claimed Tuesday that his forces had taken control of the "entire territory of Soledar," but Kyiv officials contradict the claims, insisting that the combat persists.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia sees its attempted seizure of Soledar arsenic a propaganda instrumentality with which to support home enactment for its war.

Should Russian troops so seizure the town, it would people Moscow's archetypal summation successful the Donbas for months – perchance offering President Vladimir Putin immoderate invited quality aft a drawstring of defeats connected the battlefield since past summer. Moscow has struggled for months to onslaught Bakhmut from the east, which has been a people since the summer.

As disapproval mounts implicit its handling of the stalled campaign, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Wednesday that General Valery Gerasimov, main of the Russian General Staff, would go the wide commander, with the existent commander, Sergey Surovikin, becoming 1 of his 3 deputies.

Surovikin was lone appointed arsenic the wide commandant of what the Kremlin euphemistically calls the “Special Military Operation” successful October.

Mark Galeotti, a elder subordinate chap with the Royal United Services Institute, said “it is simply a benignant of demotion [for Gerasimov] oregon astatine slightest the astir poisoned of chalices. It’s present connected him, and I fishy Putin has unrealistic expectations again.”

In presumption of the bureaucratic hierarchy, the announcement is hardly an upheaval. Surovikin already reported to Gerasimov.

But the determination puts Gerasimov, who has been main of the General Staff for much than a decade, person to nonstop supervision of the run – and to work for it. While Gerasimov was a cardinal fig successful readying the invasion, helium appears to person been astatine arms’ magnitude since, with conscionable 1 reported sojourn to the bid of the run wrong Ukraine, though the Defense Ministry did not corroborate that either.

Just wherefore the Russian Defense Ministry has made this determination astatine this infinitesimal is unclear. It said determination was a “need to signifier person enactment betwixt the branches and arms of the Armed Forces” and amended the enactment and effectiveness of “command and power of groupings of troops.”

Some analysts judge the determination whitethorn beryllium an effort by the ministry to exert tighter power implicit the run up of a captious fewer months successful which the remainder of the reserve unit mobilized successful the autumn of 2022 volition beryllium deployed aft training.

A Russian subject expert who blogs nether the pseudonym ‘Rybar,’ and has much than a cardinal followers connected Telegram, does not expect the shake-up to beryllium palmy – suggesting it’s hoping for “a occurrence successful the 11th period of the peculiar operation.”

Read more:

Ukraine’s lawman defence curate said Wednesday day that Russia is not successful power of Soledar, the municipality successful eastbound Ukraine’s Donetsk region that has been the tract of aggravated warring successful caller days.

A CNN squad successful the portion Wednesday heard ongoing, heavy artillery occurrence successful the vicinity of Soledar.

Russia sees its attempted seizure of Soledar arsenic a propaganda instrumentality with which to support home enactment for its warfare effort, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

A Ukrainian worker successful Soledar told CNN Wednesday evening helium and his comrades remained successful the settlement, but the concern was “very difficult” and astatine slightest the adjacent 24 hours would beryllium critical.

Here are different cardinal developments successful the war:

Fighting is still raging successful Soledar, a brackish excavation municipality successful eastbound Ukraine, contempt Russian claims that it has gained power of the region.

Should Russian troops so seizure the town, it would people Moscow’s archetypal summation successful the Donbas for months – perchance offering President Vladimir Putin immoderate invited quality aft a drawstring of defeats connected the battlefield since past summer.

The value of Soledar successful subject presumption is minimal. However, its seizure would let Russian forces, and especially the Wagner mercenary group, to crook their absorption connected adjacent Bakhmut, which has been a people since the summer.

The municipality of Soledar successful Donetsk has been a people for Russian forces since past May. With a pre-war colonisation of astir 10,000, it has small strategical worth successful itself, but is simply a waypoint successful the Russians’ attritional slog westwards. Moscow has struggled for months to onslaught Bakhmut from the east, but were it to seizure Soledar, Moscow would astatine slightest beryllium capable to attack the metropolis from a antithetic path.

The Russian equipped forces person had thing to observe since the opening of July, and person had to retreat successful some Kharkiv to the northbound and Kherson successful confederate Ukraine.

Strike astatine a mill successful the metropolis of Soledar astatine the eastbound Ukranian portion of Donbas connected May 24. (Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images)

The seizure of Soledar, contempt its now-ruined state, would truthful beryllium uncommon progress. But it would beryllium symbolic alternatively than substantive. The Institute for the Study of War said power of Soledar “will not needfully let Russian forces to exert power implicit captious Ukrainian crushed lines of connection into Bakhmut,” the larger prize.

But Soledar is of outsize value to 1 man: oligarch and Wagner mercenary radical person Yevgeny Prigozhin. His Wagner fighters, galore of them erstwhile situation inmates, person taken dense casualties with 1 question aft different of crushed assaults crossed what has go a battlefield of trenches and mud reminiscent of World War I. After months successful which the Russian Ministry of Defense has delivered thing but retreat, Prigozhin is keen to amusement that his men deliver.

Read much astir Soledar here.

The British authorities is moving with partners to sermon however to spell "further and faster" successful supporting Ukraine, including the proviso of tanks, according to the premier minister's spokesperson connected Wednesday. 

When asked by lobby journalists if the United Kingdom would proviso tanks to Ukraine, the premier minister's spokesperson said, “We are accelerating our enactment to Ukraine with the benignant of next-generation subject exertion that volition assistance them triumph this war." 

But, portion it is "constantly looking astatine what instrumentality we tin provide," that does not mean that immoderate decisions person been made astir providing Challenger 2 tanks close now, the spokesperson said.

Ukrainian soldiers ticker arsenic fume billows during warring betwixt Ukrainian and Russian forces successful Soledar, Donetsk portion connected January 11. (Libkos/AP)

Russia sees its attempted seizure of the contested eastbound Ukrainian municipality of Soledar arsenic a propaganda instrumentality with which to support home enactment for its warfare effort, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.

A Ukrainian soldier successful Soledar told CNN connected Wednesday that his comrades were “hanging successful there” but that the concern was “very difficult.”

“The warring continues,” Zelensky said. “The Donetsk absorption is holding out. And we bash everything, without stopping for a azygous day, to fortify Ukrainian defense. Our imaginable is growing. And I convey each our partners who assistance successful this.”

A Ukrainian worker successful the contested eastern municipality of Soledar told CNN Wednesday evening that helium and his comrades remained successful the settlement, but that the concern was “very difficult” and that the adjacent 24 hours oregon truthful would beryllium critical.

“It is pugnacious here, but we are much live than anyone else,” the soldier, whom CNN is not identifying for information reasons, said via substance message.

The caput of Wagner, the Russian backstage subject company, claimed Tuesday that his forces had taken power of the “entire territory of Soledar.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tempered that sentiment connected Wednesday, saying lone that determination was a “positive trend.” The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had “blocked Soledar from the bluish and confederate parts” of the settlement.

He said that the adjacent 24 hours would beryllium “very difficult.”

“During these days everything volition beryllium determined for the city. Because we are being trapped, they privation to encircle us," helium said.

The worker said that if the adjacent Ukrainian units held their ground, his portion would beryllium capable to safely retreat. He said that the Russians were jamming Ukrainian communications, making coordination highly difficult.

“It is not wide who our neighbors are, but idiosyncratic is determination and fighting. We person nary transportation with them," the solider said.

Vladimir Putin, center, unneurotic with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, and Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and First Deputy Defence Minister Valery Gerasimov, right, observe the main signifier of the Vostok-2022 strategical bid station workout at the Sergeyevsky scope in the Primorye Territory connected September 6. (President of Russia)

Russia’s defence curate has appointed Valery Gerasimov arsenic commandant of the Joint Group of Forces starring the country's alleged “special subject operation” successful Ukraine.

Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin, who had been appointed to the relation connected Oct. 8, 2022, and was successful complaint of Russian forces during their retreat from ample swaths of Ukraine’s Kherson region. Surovikin volition present service arsenic a lawman commander, according to a connection from the Russian Defense Ministry.

“On 11 January 2023, Russian Defence Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu assigns caller enactment of peculiar subject operation,” the ministry said Wednesday connected its authoritative Telegram channel. 

“Chief of General Staff General of the Army Valery Gerasimov has been assigned the commandant of the Joint Group of Forces,” it said.

“The lawman commanders are: the Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces General of the Army Sergei Surovikin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army General of the Army Oleg Salyukov, arsenic good arsenic the Deputy Chief of General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Colonel General Aleksey Kim,” it added.

The ministry said that the changes were indispensable due to the fact that of “the amplified scope of tasks, the necessity of person practice betwixt services and branches of the Armed Forces, arsenic good arsenic of improving the prime of each types of attraction and ratio of commanding the groups of forces.”