Donbass

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the "Wagner Group" paramilitary formation, which is fighting in Ukraine, claims that the entire eastern part of the city of Bakhmut is under Russian control.

He claims that Russia has prepared thousands of soldiers and could "try" to mark the anniversary of the launch of the war, the BBC reports.
The new offensive on that day would also mark the Russian holiday of defenders of the fatherland, February 23, which is dedicated to the Russian army. Reznikov said Moscow had mobilized about 500,000 troops for a potential offensive.

President Joe Biden said Monday the United States would not provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, as Kiev expands the list of weaponry it needs to be better able to drive Russian forces from occupied territories.

Fighting continued at key points along the long front as Russian forces sought to expand their hold on territory in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Kyiv is negotiating the supply of long-range missiles

Ukraine is in intensive talks with its allies to provide long-range missiles. Kyiv introduced sanctions against hundreds of companies from Russia and Belarus.

Here are the highlights of events related to the war in Ukraine over the past 24 hours:

Three people were killed in Russian strikes on a residential area in Ukraine

When both Moscow and Kyiv begin to believe that they will no longer be able to achieve a better result on the battlefield, the leaders of Ukraine and Russia, wherever they are, will have to meet and agree on a mutually acceptable solution, which will make both sides feel better than continuing the war.

Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the eastern city of Soledar in the Donetsk region, military spokesman Serhiy Cherevaty was quoted as saying by Ukrainian state television on Wednesday.

"(Our forces) fulfilled their main task: to prevent the enemy from making systematic breakthroughs in the Donetsk direction," Cherevatiy said, quoted by TASS.

German authorities will send "Leopard 2" tanks to Ukraine and allow their export by other countries, said the spokesman of the German government.
Germany's decision paves the way for Poland, Spain and Norway, which have previously announced they are ready to send tanks.

As of Monday evening, the Ukrainian military may have already withdrawn from Soledar, which as a result is controlled by the Russian military and the private military company Wagner.

This is according to today's military intelligence briefing, after Russia announced on Friday that it was in control of the Donbas city.

The fate of a devastated salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine hung in the balance Wednesday in one of the bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion, while Ukraine's unflagging resistance and other challenges prompted Moscow to shake up its military leadership again.

Russian forces used jets, mortars and rockets to bombard Soledar in an unrelenting assault.