Ukraine updates: Constant Russian attacks in east, says Kyiv - DW (English)

Russian forces are launching a bid of attacks connected Bakhmut and different towns successful Ukraine's eastbound Donbas region, but Ukrainian troops are managing to clasp backmost their advance, officials successful Kyiv said connected Monday.

In a regular report, the wide unit of Ukraine's equipped forces said Moscow's troops had carried retired 7 rocket strikes, 31 airstrikes and 73 attacks from salvo rocket launchers successful the past day. 

It said Ukraine's forces had succeeded successful holding retired against attacks connected 14 settlements, including Bakhmut, which has go a absorption of dense warring successful past weeks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has besides said that Bakhmut was "holding connected contempt everything."  

"And adjacent though astir of the municipality has been destroyed by Russian strikes, our soldiers are repelling changeless Russian attempts to advance," helium said successful a nightly video code connected Sunday.

Zelenskyy added that Ukrainian forces were besides successfully defending the adjacent municipality of Soledar, "even though determination is adjacent greater demolition and things are precise difficult."

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar also described the concern of Ukrainian soldiers adjacent Soledar, which is immoderate 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) from Bakhmut, as "difficult" connected her Telegram transmission connected Sunday.

She said Russian attacks were being carried retired not lone by the regular service but by troops from the mercenary Wagner Group.

Ukraine indispensable clasp connected to some the towns to support Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, 2 large Donbas cities that are inactive nether Kyiv's control. The autumn of these cities would mean Russia had virtually captured the full Donbas region, 1 of the goals Moscow publically acceptable itself astatine the opening of its penetration past February.

Here are different related developments concerning the warfare successful Ukraine connected January 9:

Zelenskyy says Ukraine resisting 'tougher assaults' successful Soledar

In his nightly address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops were withstanding "new and adjacent tougher assaults" connected Soledar, adjacent the eastbound metropolis of Bakhmut that Moscow has been trying to seizure for months.

"I convey each our soldiers who support our Bakhmut," Zelenskyy said, noting, "All the fighters successful Soledar, who are withstanding the caller and adjacent tougher assaults from the invaders!" 

Soledar is located successful the Donetsk region, astir 15 kilometers (nine miles) from Bakhmut, a metropolis with a pre-war colonisation of 70,000 that is present an epicentre of fighting.

"Thanks to the resilience of our soldiers there, successful Soledar, we won further clip and forces for Ukraine," Zelenskyy added.

"Everything is wholly destroyed," Zelenskyy said. "The full onshore successful Soledar is covered with corpses of the invaders and is scarred from the explosions."

Earlier connected Monday, the Ukrainian equipped forces said they repelled an effort to prehend Soledar, but that warring resumed.

More tanks would prolong warfare and not alteration the outcome, says Russia

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said sending tanks to Ukraine would lone prolong the suffering of the Ukrainian radical and would not alteration the war's outcome, the Russia's Interfax quality bureau reported. 

"In principle, these deliveries cannot and volition not alteration thing successful Ukraine," Peskov said. 

It was not conscionable astir the French AMX-10 RC airy tanks but astir each Western arms supplies, the Russian spokesperson said.

Peskov was referring to France's determination past week to nonstop the airy combat tanks to Ukraine. Following France's announcement, Germany and the US said they would nonstop armored vehicles, albeit antithetic kinds, to Ukraine too. 

Germany has nary existent plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine

The German authorities has nary plans astatine the infinitesimal to nonstop Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a authorities spokesperson said.

German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said implicit the play that decisions astir sending much tanks to Ukraine would inactive person to beryllium taken.

Government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit said connected Monday helium was not alert astir immoderate requests to nonstop Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine from immoderate NATO partners, but said sending them was not "impossible."

Berlin said past week it would supply Marder infantry warring vehicles to Ukraine, but has repeatedly emphasized that it would not enactment unsocial erstwhile it came to sending armored vehicles.

Poland floats imaginable conjugation for supplying tanks to Ukraine

Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski told Polish national radio that he was discussing forming a wide conjugation of countries to supply tanks to Ukraine.

A information advisor to Polish President Andrzej Duda also told Radio Zet that the substance was "in flux" and the archetypal happening would beryllium to find retired "what our allies successful Western countries volition do."

Jakub Kumoch told Radio Zet that Poland could beryllium a portion of the conjugation but could not enactment connected its own.

He dismissed reports astir Warsaw getting acceptable to manus overLeopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, labeling them as "disinformation."

Doubts turn astir alleged Russian deed connected Ukrainian troops

Russian claims to person killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers successful a rocket onslaught successful Kramatorsk person been progressively called into question by a fig of officials.

Moscow said connected Sunday it had targeted the soldiers arsenic revenge for a New Year's onslaught by Ukraine that killed scores of Russian soldiers and caused an outcry successful Russia.

But a Ukrainian subject spokesperson for the eastbound region, Serhii Cherevatyi, said the Russian claims were a bid to amusement that Moscow was susceptible of responding successful benignant to the Ukrainian attack.

Even pro-Kremlin subject bloggers person formed uncertainty connected Moscow's claims.

Reuters quality bureau has said that its reporters had recovered nary evident signs of casualties astatine the 2 assemblage dormitories where Moscow said the killed Ukrainian unit had been temporarily accommodated.

Both Russia and Ukrainian militaries person often overstated force losses, portion minimizing their own. The Kremlin connected Monday reiterated its content successful the information of Defense Ministry's claims astir the Kramatorsk attack.

rm, tj/rs (Reuters, AP, dpa)