January 11, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

A Ukrainian soldier in the contested eastern town of Soledar told CNN Wednesday evening that he and his comrades remained in the settlement, but that the situation was “very difficult” and that the next 24 hours or so would be critical.

“It is tough here, but we are more alive than anyone else,” the soldier, whom CNN is not identifying for security reasons, said via text message.

The head of Wagner, the Russian private military company, claimed Tuesday that his forces had taken control of the “entire territory of Soledar.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tempered that sentiment on Wednesday, saying only that there was a “positive trend.” The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had “blocked Soledar from the northern and southern parts” of the settlement.

He said that the next 24 hours would be “very difficult.”

“During these days everything will be determined for the city. Because we are being trapped, they want to encircle us," he said.

The soldier said that if the nearby Ukrainian units held their ground, his unit would be able to safely retreat. He said that the Russians were jamming Ukrainian communications, making coordination extremely difficult.

“It is not clear who our neighbors are, but someone is there and fighting. We have no connection with them," the solider said.

Russia’s defense minister has appointed Valery Gerasimov as commander of the Joint Group of Forces leading the country's so-called “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin, who had been appointed to the role on Oct. 8, 2022, and was in charge of Russian forces during their retreat from large swaths of Ukraine’s Kherson region. Surovikin will now serve as a deputy commander, according to a statement from the Russian Defense Ministry.

“On 11 January 2023, Russian Defence Minister General of the Army Sergei Shoigu assigns new leadership of special military operation,” the ministry said Wednesday on its official Telegram channel. 

“Chief of General Staff General of the Army Valery Gerasimov has been assigned the commander of the Joint Group of Forces,” it said.

“The deputy commanders are: the Commander-in-Chief of Aerospace Forces General of the Army Sergei Surovikin, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army General of the Army Oleg Salyukov, as well as the Deputy Chief of General Staff of Russian Armed Forces Colonel General Aleksey Kim,” it added.

The ministry said that the changes were necessary because of “the amplified range of tasks, the necessity of closer cooperation between services and branches of the Armed Forces, as well as of improving the quality of all types of maintenance and efficiency of commanding the groups of forces.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, in which they discussed the war in Syria as well as bilateral cooperation, the Kremlin press service said Wednesday.

The Kremlin’s statement did not specify if Putin and Raisi discussed the war in Ukraine.

As a result of the conversation, the leaders agreed to "further increase an entire range of bilateral cooperation" between Russia and Iran and implement “mutually beneficial projects in the energy, transport and logistics sectors.”

Top Ukrainian and Russian humanitarian officials, who oversee prisoner swaps, met Wednesday in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

They also met with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“The Turkish side made concrete proposals to intensify the resolution of humanitarian issues,” Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets said on his official Telegram account. “Turkey, as a partner of Ukraine, has repeatedly demonstrated its active participation in solving many problems related to Russia's armed aggression.”

Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s human rights commissioner, said she continues to work with Lubinets “to assist in the exchange of prisoners of war.”

“I asked my Ukrainian colleague to consider the possibility of providing assistance to Ukrainian citizens who would like to come to Russia to visit their relatives suffering from serious illnesses,” she said. “In the context of the complex construction of humanitarian corridors, these people need the help of the ombudsman.”

A CNN team in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Wednesday heard ongoing, heavy artillery fire in the vicinity of Soledar, the town that has been the site of intense fighting in recent days.

Several kilometers from the front line, the Ukrainian troops remained calm, conducting their maintenance and logistical duties, with no signs of imminent retreat or withdrawal.

The contribution of Western countries to Ukraine’s war effort was clearly visible on the ground, with many military fighting and medical vehicles from Poland, France, the US, and the UK, to name few.

Also on location was the head of the civil administration of the Soledar region, who was helping to distribute aid boxes to locals.

Poland will send Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, Polish President Andrzej Duda said during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Lviv.

“A company of Leopard tanks for Ukraine will be handed over/given as part of building an international coalition,” Duda said in a statement on his official Twitter account. “This decision has already been taken in Poland.” 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the decision.

“Today I can say a very important word for our defense, for our state, for our army, for the common defense of Ukraine and the whole Europe — the word ‘tanks,’” Zelensky said during a news conference in Lviv alongside his Polish and Lithuanian counterparts.

See Duda's tweet:

It would be the first time a Western-made tank has been sent to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion.

Duda cautioned during a press conference that “a whole range of formal requirements, approvals and so on must also be met.”

The Leopard tank is manufactured in Germany, and its re-export would typically need the approval of the German government. A spokesperson for the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Säverin, referred CNN to the Polish government.

The small mining town of Soledar has seen some of the most recent intense fighting along the frontline in Ukraine.

The town is located 15 kilometers (or about 9 miles) north of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.

The head of Wagner, the Russian private military company, claimed Tuesday that his forces had taken control of the “entire territory of Soledar.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tempered that sentiment on Wednesday, saying only that there was a “positive trend.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had “blocked Soledar from the northern and southern parts” of the settlement.

The move for Soledar by Wagner would be strategically important to the ultimate capture of Bakhmut as a way of enveloping the city from the north and disrupting Ukrainian communication lines.

Bakhmut has risen to infamy for being regularly referred to as the most contested and kinetic part of the 1,300 kilometers (800 mile) frontline in Ukraine. Bakhmut lies on the road towards even bigger and more strategically important cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

Ukrainian armed forces told CNN Wednesday that "Russian troops do not control Soledar." Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said that "battles are ongoing there. The Armed Forces of Ukraine and other defense forces are regrouping."

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address Tuesday that Russian troops are focused on seizing Soledar, and he thanked Ukraine's troops for their “bravery and steadfastness in defending” the town.

Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said Wednesday afternoon that Russia is not in control of Soledar, the town in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region that has been the site of intense fighting in recent days.

Russia's latest claims: The head of Wagner, the Russian private military company, claimed Tuesday that his forces had taken control of the “entire territory of Soledar.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov tempered that sentiment on Wednesday, saying only that there was a “positive trend.” The Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday that its forces had “blocked Soledar from the northern and southern parts” of the settlement.

The Russian defense ministry said Wednesday that airborne units have blocked northern and southern parts of Soledar after the Kremlin cautioned against premature claims on the capture of the eastern Ukrainian town.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of Russian private military contractor Wagner, claimed late Tuesday that the group had taken control of the "entire territory of Soledar." Ukrainian forces have confirmed to CNN that battles for the region are "ongoing."

Here are the latest developments: