Ukrainian Tanks Attack Russian Positions Near Soledar

Russia confirmed on Friday that Ukrainian forces attacked its positions along nearly a hundred kilometers of the front line near Soledar. Soledar is a small mining town near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine that Moscow's forces captured in January. According to Reuters, as expectations rise for Ukrainian forces to launch a counteroffensive and push Russia out of positions it seized 15 months ago, Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister, confirmed reports of Ukrainian gains near Bakhmut, although she downplayed the scale of the attacks. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces repelled 26 Ukrainian attacks on Thursday, which involved over a thousand soldiers and 40 tanks near Soledar. Reuters could not verify battlefield reports, and there was no immediate response from Kyiv, which had remained silent during previous attacks. The assault on Soledar, just north of Bakhmut, appears to confirm reports from the Russian private military company Wagner that Kyiv is beginning its attack on the northern and southern flanks of the city with the aim of encircling it. Earlier this week, a Ukrainian unit claimed to have defeated a Russian brigade in southwestern Bakhmut in the largest Ukrainian advance in six months. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group, stated that the flanks, which are protected by regular forces, are collapsing and endangering his group's positions in the city. The Russian Defense Ministry denied this claim. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a Telegram message that 'the road ahead is not easy,' although he stated that Ukraine 'is now much stronger than last year or any other year of this war for the freedom and independence of our country.' Western countries have sent hundreds of modern tanks and armored vehicles to support Ukrainian forces and have trained thousands of its soldiers for anticipated offensives. Josep Borrell emphasized the importance of sending more ammunition and military equipment to Ukraine. The Biden administration wants to use the seized assets of a Russian oligarch to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine. France has initiated a case for 'war crime investigations against Russia.'