Russia is intensifying its offensive against Ukraine. Officials suggest that Vladimir Putin’s troops may have taken control in an area beyond the capital city of Bakhmut.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy (the Ukrainian leader) stated that “everything has been completely destroyed and there is almost no living thing” in Donetsk, which also includes Soledar.

Mr Zelenskyy stated that “the whole land around Soledar has been covered with the corpses and scars of the occupations.” This is how madness looks.

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According to the Ukrainian presidential office, at least four civilians died and 30 more were injured in Russian shelling that occurred between Monday and Tuesday.

Governor Vitaliykim in Mykolaiv said that Russian troops had attacked the port of Ochakiv and surrounding areas overnight Monday through Tuesday. He added 15 more people, including a child aged two years old, to the wounded list.

According to the Ministry of Defence, the Russian and Wagner forces (a private group of mercenaries) made strategic advances in Soledar in the Donbas and are now “likely in control of most of this settlement.”

According to the ministry, Russia’s Soledar Axis is “highly probable” to attempt to engulf Bakhmut from north and “disrupt Ukrainian communication lines”.

“Despite increased pressure on Bakhmut Russia is unlikely to envelop it imminently because Ukrainian forces have stable defensive lines in depth, control over supply routes and maintain stable defense lines.”

Hanna Malyar (the deputy defense minister) stated that Russia has sent “a large number” of storm units into the fight.

She said that the enemy was advancing on their soldiers’ bodies and using massive artillery, rocket launchers, mortars and other means to hit their troops.

Continue reading: A surgeon removes a ‘live’ grenade from a soldier’s body

Named are two missing Britons who volunteered in Donetsk.

Pavlo Kyrylenko (the governor of Donetsk), described the Russian attacks against Soledar, Bakhmut, and added: “The Russian army reduces Ukrainian cities to rubble using all types of weapons in their scorched earth tactics.

“Russia is engaging in a war against the rules that results in civilian deaths and suffering.

Denis Pushili (the Moscow-appointed leader of the region), stated that Russian forces had nearly captured Soledar but were paying a high price. He added that the city would give them “good prospects” to take over Siversk and Bakhmut.

For several months, there has been intense fighting between the east and west of Ukraine, focusing on the Donetsk-Luhansk regions which Russia claims to be in control.

These areas form the Donbas, an area that borders Russia and is central to Vladimir Putin’s war effort.

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Bakhmut in Donetsk is significant to the Kremlin because it would control Ukraine’s supply lines, and allow its forces to move towards Kramatorsk or Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds, in Donetsk.

The town was without power and water for weeks, just like other cities under siege. The governor of the region estimated that 90% of the town’s pre-war population had fled.

Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, stated that the military will use its experience from Ukraine to improve combat training. The control and communications systems will be improved with artificial intelligence. Troops will receive better tactical gear.

Russian officials claim that Russia is fighting Ukraine as well as NATO. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, stated that NATO’s members have “become a party to conflict, pumping weapons and technology into Ukraine”.