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Added on the 11/01/2023 12:05:15 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Smike rises over the cities of Bakhmut and Soledar in east Ukraine where the ongoing battle for control was described as "bloodiest" of the war so far by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak. The fate of Soledar is still unclear, with Russian mercenary group Wagner claiming to control the gateway town while the Kremlin cautioned against declaring victory prematurely. IMAGES
Ukrainian air force planes are seen dropping flares and flying at very low altitude while MRLS, also known as 'Grad', are seen firing near Soledar. The fate of Soledar, a war-battered salt mining city in east Ukraine, is unclear, with Russian mercenary group Wagner claiming to control the gateway town while the Kremlin cautioned against declaring victory prematurely. IMAGES
Russia is executing soldiers who try to retreat from a bloody new offensive in eastern Ukraine and has suffered "significant" losses of armor and personnel, the White House says. "We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who are refusing to follow orders," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says during a news briefing. SOUNDBITE
An MRLS rocket falls on a building in Chasiv Yar, in the Bakhmut area, amid heavy shelling as Ukrainian soldiers take cover on the stairs of a basement nearby. IMAGES
Images taken from the town of Chasiv Yar show smoke rising from the direction of Bakhmut following shelling. The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said that his forces control more than half of the embattled eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut, the stage for the longest battle of Russia's offensive. IMAGES
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warns that the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut may fall into Russian hands in the coming days following months of intense fighting."We can not rule out that Bakhmut may eventually fall in the coming days," Stoltenberg tells reporters in Stockholm on the sidelines of a meeting of EU defence ministers. SOUNDBITE