Russia-Ukraine war live: Ukraine ‘holding on’ to Soledar as Russia builds up forces, says minister | Ukraine

Ukrainian forces are “holding on” as “fierce fighting” continues in the eastern city of Soledar, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said.

Kyiv has denied that Moscow’s forces have encircled and captured Soledar, after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that the city had fallen.

Russia is building up its forces in Ukraine, with the number of Russian military units rising to 280 from 250 a week earlier, Maliar told a news briefing this morning.

She said:

Fighting is fierce in the Soledar direction. They (the Russians) are moving over their own corpses.

She added:

Russia is driving its own people to the slaughter by the thousands, but we are holding on.

The Russian capture of Soledar and the city’s saltmines would have symbolic, military and commercial value for Moscow. But the situation in and around Soledar appears fluid and neither side’s claim can be independently verified.

The military situation in Ukraine remained “difficult”, with the heaviest fighting on the eastern front, Brig Gen Oleksiy Gromov told the briefing.

Russian forces were trying to cut through Ukrainian lines and surround Ukrainian troops, he said.

Hello everyone. It’s Léonie Chao-Fong here again, taking over the live blog from Jamie Grierson to bring you all the latest developments from Ukraine. Feel free to get in touch on Twitter or via email.

Pjotr Sauer

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed his forces have found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine.

In a statement published on his Telegram channel late on Wednesday, Prigozhin did not mention the name of the dead man but said documents belonging to both Britons had been found on his body.

The statement was posted alongside a photo that appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing workers.

The pair were last known to have been travelling from Kramatorsk to Soledar, in eastern Ukraine, on 6 January, according to Sky News. The salt-mining town has endured days of heavy fighting as part of Moscow’s months-long offensive to capture Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

The Guardian was unable to verify the claim.

A UK Foreign Office spokesperson said:

We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.

Aiden Aslin, a British national serving as a Ukrainian marine since 2018, who was earlier captured by Russia before being released in a prisoner exchange, tweeted:

In regards to the Two Foreigners, do not believe anything Russia says regarding their status. They’ve lied before and broken int[ernational] law and they’ll do it again trying make it sound like they were something which they weren’t.

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If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:

• Wagner claimed its forces found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine. It did not give the name of the dead man but said documents belonging to both Britons had been found on his body. A photo posted alongside the statement appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing workers. Ukrainian police said on Monday they were looking for the pair who went missing. A spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office added: “We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.”

• The latest intelligence update from the UK Ministry of Defence said over the last two days heavy fighting has continued around the town of Soledar, Donetsk oblast, and on the approaches to Kremina, Luhansk oblast.

• The Ukrainian military has claimed its forces killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in a single strike in Soledar. Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a missile at Russian troops, the command of Ukraine’s special operations forces said in an update early this morning.

• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, and said that fighting is ongoing. “The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend” to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Zelenskiy said in his Wednesday evening address, “but the fighting continues”. Ukraine’s military also denied that Russian forces have encircled and captured Soledar after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group that the mining town had fallen.

• Russia appointed Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership. Russia’s defence ministry said the changes were designed to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces” in a statement on Wednesday. Gerasimov has faced sharp criticism from Russia’s hawkish military bloggers for multiple setbacks on the battlefield.

• The British government is planning to provide tanks to Ukraine to help the country defend itself, according to a spokesperson for No 10. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday the spokesperson said that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had asked defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to “work with partners” and to provide further support to Ukraine “including the provision of tanks”. “It’s clear that battle tanks could provide a game-changing capability to the Ukrainians,” he said. “The prime minister told President Zelenskiy last week the UK will provide whatever we can.”

• Poland plans to send 10 German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition, the Polish president said on a visit to Lviv on Wednesday. The transfer would require permission from Germany, which Kyiv has been pressing separately to supply Leopard 2s, perhaps suggesting a softening of Germany’s stance on the transfer of main battle tanks after recent contacts between Warsaw and Berlin. However, a German government spokesperson said it was not aware of any requests from allies to send the tanks to Ukraine.

• The European Union is “prepared for a long war” in Ukraine and will support Kyiv against Russia’s aggression for “as long as it takes”, said Sweden’s foreign minister, Tobias Billström, whose country holds the EU’s presidency. He also said the EU would continue working on more sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

• Zelenskiy urged Nato to do more than just promise Ukraine its open doors, and said Kyiv needs “powerful steps” as it tries to join the military alliance. “For today, just support for Ukraine from colleagues in Nato and support in the form of rhetoric about open doors is not enough for Ukraine. Namely, not enough to motivate our state … our soldiers,” Zelenskiy said in Lviv after talks with the presidents of Lithuania and Poland. “We need steps forward … we are looking forward to powerful steps, we are counting on something more than just open doors.”

• The Russian president said the situation in Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed was “difficult in places”. Vladimir Putin, speaking at a televised meeting with officials, also said Russia had all the resources it needed to improve life in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow unilaterally claimed to have annexed in September.

• Ukraine must “be ready” at its border with Russian ally Belarus even though it sees only “powerful statements” coming from its neighbour, Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Kyiv has warned that Russia may try to use Belarus to launch a new ground invasion of Ukraine from the north.

• Nato and the EU are launching a taskforce to bolster the protection of critical infrastructure in response to last year’s attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and Russia’s “weaponising of energy”, leaders said on Wednesday. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the taskforce would initially come up with proposals on transport, energy, digital and space infrastructure.

• A Russian conscript has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison after getting into an altercation with his superiors over poor training conditions, in the first known ruling against a soldier who criticised the Kremlin’s unpopular mobilisation. In a video filmed on 13 November, draftee Alexander Leshkov is seen shouting profanities and shoving Lt Col Denis Mazanov at a training ground outside Moscow. Leshkov is heard telling his commander: “You are sabotaging the commander-in-chief’s direct orders [to supply and train mobilised soldiers],” adding: “You should be arrested.”

Forces from Russia’s Wagner Group have claimed to have found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine, the private military firm reportedly said in a statement.

The Guardian has been unable to verify the reports and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) did not confirm the discovery, but added it was providing support to the families.

The Wagner claim has been widely picked up by British media, including the BBC.

In a post on Telegram, Wagner did not mention the name of the deceased man but said documents belonging to both Britons had been found on his body.

A photo posted alongside the statement appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing workers.

Ukrainian police said on Monday they were looking for the pair who went missing in east Ukraine, the scene of heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

“Today the body of one of them was found. Documents for both Britons were discovered with him,” said the Wagner statement. It did not give details on where the body was found.

A spokesperson for the UK FCDO said: “We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.”

A former Russian deputy minister of defence has suggested the country could increase the age of conscription for military service from 27 to 30 for this year’s spring draft campaign, the BBC Russian service reported.

Andrey Kartapolov, the head of the State Duma defence committee, suggested the change could take place without altering the lower bar for conscription of 18 years.

Last year, the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, proposed changing the draft age limits by raising the upper limit to 30 but also the lower bar to 21.

Kartopolov appears to be talking about a transitional option in which there will be no increase in the lower limit yet, the BBC Russian service said.

However, no amendments to the age limits have been approved or even introduced.

A Ukrainian soldier has had successful surgery to remove an unexploded grenade from his chest, senior officials in Kyiv have said.

Surgeons removed the weapon from just beneath the heart of the injured serviceman, while two sappers ensured the operation was conducted safely, said Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defence, who uploaded an image apparently showing an X-ray of the ordnance inside the soldier’s body.

“Military doctors conducted an operation to remove a VOG grenade, which did not break, from the body of the soldier,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

Anton Gerashchenko, Ukraine’s internal affairs ministerial adviser, said the team of sappers neutralised the munition, and described the procedure as one that would “go down in medical textbooks”.

The operation was carried out without using electrocoagulation — a common method to control bleeding during surgery — because “the grenade could detonate at any moment”, Maliar said.

One image showed the surgeon holding the explosive after the surgery was performed.

The soldier has since been sent for further rehabilitation and recovery.

Gerashchenko wrote in a Telegram update early on Thursday: “The unexploded part of the grenade was taken from under the heart. The grenade did not explode, but remained explosive.”

Poland earlier announced that it plans to transfer 10 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, in a move with wide significance.

Speaking on a visit to Lviv on Wednesday, the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, said:

A company of Leopard tanks will be handed over as part of coalition building. We want it to be an international coalition.

The transfer would require permission from Germany, which Kyiv has been pressing separately to supply Leopard 2s, perhaps suggesting a softening of Germany’s stance on the transfer of main battle tanks after recent contacts between Warsaw and Berlin.

However, a German government spokesperson said it was not aware of any requests from allies to send the tanks to Ukraine.

The issue of supplying tanks to Ukraine has become the centre of a frenzied round of recent diplomacy, as a number of countries have put pressure on the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to allow the supply of Leopard 2s.

Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies show the destruction inflicted upon the eastern Ukrainian city of Soledar.

A comparison of images shows the buildings and roads on 1 August 2022 compared with an image of destroyed buildings at the same location taken on 10 January 2023, in the southern part of the city.

The fate of Soledar remains uncertain after Russian group Wagner claimed it controlled the gateway town but senior figures in Kyiv maintain that fighting continues to rage.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has called for his forces to be “ready both at the border and in the regions” near Belarus amid fear Russia may launch a fresh assault from the north.

During a visit to Lviv on Wednesday, Zelenskiy held a meeting with his senior advisers concerning Ukraine’s border protection and the current security situation in the north-western regions of Ukraine.

In particular, the parties “discussed the operational situation on the border with the Republic of Belarus”, according to a statement published by Ukraine’s president’s office.

Zelenskiy was informed about “the condition and strengthening of fortifications on the border, as well as material support of border guards and servicemen in the regions bordering Belarus”.

Zelenskiy said:

We understand that, apart from powerful statements, we see nothing powerful there, but we must be ready both at the border and in the regions.

Kyiv’s forces are currently training for the threat of a fresh assault across a new front in the north.

Ukraine fears Russia could build up forces on the territory of its Belarusian ally before striking in the north-west or even try to drive towards Kyiv as it did when it invaded last February.

By reopening a northern front, Russia would stretch Kyiv’s forces, which have been focused for months on battles raging in the east and south, forcing it to divert troops to the north.

In a clue as to the kind of attack Ukraine may face from Belarus, Kyiv’s troops on Wednesday practised urban warfare, firing assault rifles, driving armoured vehicles and freeing hostages.

Ukraine denies that Russian forces have encircled and captured Soledar after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group that the eastern city had fallen.

On Tuesday evening, Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed his Wagner army had taken control of the small salt-mining town of Soledar.

Prigozhin also released a photo showing him with a group of his fighters and a tank, which he said was taken in one of the tunnels of a saltmine in the south-west of Soledar.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the city, and maintained that fighting was ongoing.

The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend that some part of our city of Soledar … is allegedly some kind of Russia’s achievement,” he said in his Wednesday evening address.

They will present – and are already presenting – this to their society in such a way as to support mobilisation and to give hope to those who support aggression.

But the fighting continues. The Donetsk direction is holding out.”

Commenting on the fighting in Soledar, Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for the eastern group of the Ukrainian armed forces, said: “Russians say that it is under their control; it is not true.”

Accounts from Ukrainian soldiers on that sector of the front suggested Russia had moved Wagner fighters from Bakhmut to focus solely on the battle for Soledar.

Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said “hard battles are going on to keep Soledar”.

She added: “The enemy does not pay attention to the large losses of its personnel and continues to actively storm. The approaches to our positions are simply littered with the bodies of dead enemy fighters.”

The Russian capture of Soledar and the city’s saltmines would have symbolic, military and commercial value for Moscow. But the situation in and around Soledar appeared fluid and neither claim could be independently verified.

Russian forces have recently focused their efforts on the capture of Soledar as part of their ambition to take the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut and Ukraine’s larger eastern Donbas region.

Seizing Soledar would be Russia’s most substantial gain since August, after a series of humiliating retreats in the second half of 2022.

Hello and welcome back to the Guardian’s live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Samantha Lock and I’ll be bringing you all the latest developments as they unfold over the next few hours.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, maintaining that fighting is ongoing and dismissing Russian reports the city had fallen.

Separately, during a visit to Lviv on Wednesday, Zelenskiy held a meeting with his senior advisors and called for Ukraine’s forces to ready at the border with Belarus.

“We must be ready both at the border and in the regions,” he said amid growing fear Russia may launch a fresh assault from the north.

For any updates or feedback you wish to share, please feel free to get in touch via email or Twitter.

If you have just joined us, here are all the latest developments:

• Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, and said that fighting is ongoing. “The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend” to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Zelenskiy said in his Wednesday evening address, “but the fighting continues”. Ukraine’s military also denied that Russian forces have encircled and captured Soledar after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group that the mining town had fallen.

• Russia appointed Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership. Russia’s defence ministry said the changes were designed to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces” in a statement on Wednesday. Gerasimov has faced sharp criticism from Russia’s hawkish military bloggers for multiple setbacks on the battlefield.

• The British government is planning to provide tanks to Ukraine to help the country defend itself, according to a spokesperson for Number 10. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday the spokesperson said that prime minister Rishi Sunak, has asked defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to “work with partners” and to provide further support to Ukraine “including the provision of tanks”. “It’s clear that battle tanks could provide a game-changing capability to the Ukrainians,” he said. “The prime minister told President Zelenskiy last week the UK will provide whatever we can.”

• Poland plans to send 10 German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition, the Polish president said on a visit to Lviv on Wednesday. The transfer would require permission from Germany, which Kyiv has been pressing separately to supply Leopard 2s, perhaps suggesting a softening of Germany’s stance on the transfer of main battle tanks after recent contacts between Warsaw and Berlin. However, a German government spokesperson said it was not aware of any requests from allies to send the tanks to Ukraine.

• The European Union is “prepared for a long war” in Ukraine and will support Kyiv against Russia’s aggression for “as long as it takes”, said Sweden’s foreign minister Tobias Billström, whose country holds the EU’s presidency. He also said the EU would continue working on more sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine.

• Zelenskiy urged Nato to do more than just promise Ukraine its open doors, and said Kyiv needs “powerful steps” as it tries to join the military alliance. “For today, just support for Ukraine from colleagues in Nato and support in the form of rhetoric about open doors is not enough for Ukraine. Namely, not enough to motivate our state … our soldiers,” Zelenskiy said in Lviv after talks with the presidents of Lithuania and Poland. “We need steps forward … we are looking forward to powerful steps, we are counting on something more than just open doors.”

• The Russian president said the situation in Ukrainian regions that Moscow illegally annexed was “difficult in places”. Vladimir Putin, speaking at a televised meeting with officials, also said Russia had all the resources it needed to improve life in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow unilaterally claimed to have annexed in September.

• Ukraine must “be ready” at its border with Russian ally Belarus even though it sees only “powerful statements” coming from its neighbour, Zelenskiy said on Wednesday. Kyiv has warned that Russia may try to use Belarus to launch a new ground invasion of Ukraine from the north.

• Nato and the EU are launching a taskforce to bolster the protection of critical infrastructure in response to last year’s attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and Russia’s “weaponising of energy”, leaders said on Wednesday. The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the taskforce would initially come up with proposals on transport, energy, digital and space infrastructure.

• A Russian conscript has been sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison after getting into an altercation with his superiors over poor training conditions, in the first known ruling against a soldier who criticised the Kremlin’s unpopular mobilisation. In a video filmed on 13 November, draftee Alexander Leshkov is seen shouting profanities and shoving Lt Col Denis Mazanov at a training ground outside Moscow. Leshkov is heard telling his commander: “You are sabotaging the commander-in-chief’s direct orders [to supply and train mobilised soldiers],” adding: “You should be arrested.”

• Wagner claimed its forces found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine. It did not give the name of the dead man but said documents belonging to both Britons had been found on his body. A photo posted alongside the statement appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing workers. Ukrainian police said on Monday they were looking for the pair who went missing. A spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office added: “We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.”