Ukraine war: Kyiv says situation is 'extremely difficult' as Russians make advances near key target

Ukraine was hit by another wave of missile strikes at the start of the week, while Russian forces have made "tactical advances" into the town of Soledar near Bakhmut, according to the latest intelligence update from Britain's Ministry of Defense.
Soledar is located approximately 6 miles north of Bakhmut. It is likely that the capture of Bakhmut remains Russia's immediate main operational objective.
On Monday night, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that while Russian forces are currently focused on Soledar, the eventual outcome of the battle will be the liberation of the entire Donbas region.
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He conceded that the fighting was difficult around Soledar, where there were barely any walls left standing.
The best fighters from Russia's paramilitary group, the Wagner Group, have been deployed to Soledar in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. This is where Russian forces have made tactical gains in recent days.
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Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine's eastern forces, said on local TV channel 24 that Russian forces were deploying their best Wagner fighters at Soledar. He added that the location had been struck 86 times by artillery over the past 24 hours.
Russia is believed to see the capture of Soledar as a step toward its bigger target, that of capturing Bakhmut in Donetsk. Fighting in the area has been intense for months, and Russia may see this as an opportunity to gain ground.
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Cherevaty said Russia was using World War I-style tactics, throwing large numbers of men into battle and absorbing heavy losses. He said that this approach was not effective and would not lead to success.
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The Wagner Group is a private military company that has been fighting alongside Russia's standard military units. The group is estimated to be around 50,000 strong, with many of its servicemen recruited from Russian prisons. In return for fighting in Ukraine, these fighters are offered pardons, and some have reportedly already received them.
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Cherevaty stated that this war is not representative of 21st-century wars, according to comments on Youtube translated by NBC News.
Currently, the most intense fighting in the Bakhmut direction is taking place in Soledar. The enemy has concentrated its best units there, supported by regular Russian armed forces. The fighting is fierce, and the enemy is trying to take control of the city at any cost.
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On Tuesday, Cherevaty said that 86 instances of shelling had been recorded around Soledar and surrounding settlements. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Monday night that hardly any walls were left standing in Soledar and that Russian corpses covered the landscape.
Zelenskyy said that Russia's actions in the conflict have left the region devastated, with few people remaining alive. He added that the land near Soledar is covered in the corpses of Russian soldiers, and that the area bears the scars of the fighting.
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The European Union will impose new sanctions on Belarus as part of its ongoing effort to pressure Russia to end its war in Ukraine. These measures will extend to those countries that support Russia, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Tuesday.
"We will keep up the pressure on the Kremlin for as long as it takes with a tough sanctions regime," von der Leyen said at a news conference. "We will extend these sanctions to those who militarily support Russia's war, such as Belarus or Iran."
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We will be announcing new sanctions against Belarus in response to their role in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
According to a survey of global strategists and analysts, Russia may not survive the coming decade and risks becoming a failed state as it pursues its costly war in Ukraine.
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The Atlantic Council's Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security polled 167 global strategists and practitioners last fall on the biggest prospective drivers of geopolitical, societal, economic, technological and environmental change. The results of the poll showed that the biggest drivers of change in the coming years will be technological advances, economic growth and environmental change.
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The American think tank's poll found that respondents believe there is a potential for a Russian collapse in the next decade. This was one of the most surprising takeaways from the poll.
The Atlantic Council noted that the Kremlin's war against Ukraine could precipitate hugely consequential upheaval in a great power with the largest nuclear-weapons arsenal on the planet.
On Monday, four civilians were killed and 30 people were wounded in multiple strikes on the northeastern, eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, a top official said on Tuesday.
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Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, noted on Telegram that two people had died in attacks on the Kharkiv region. A market in the village of Shevchenkove was hit, killing two woman. Seven other people were injured in the attack. Two others died in an attack on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine on Monday. Another two were wounded.
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In other areas, six people were wounded in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, and 15 were wounded during attacks on Mykolaiv in the south of the country.
CNBC was unable to verify the figures. Tymoshenko said the figures had been provided by regional military administrations. However, a source close to Tymoshenko said the figures were "inflated."
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Russia will continue to develop its nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers, as these weapons are the main guarantee of its sovereignty, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
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"The nuclear triad is a key element of our national security, and we will continue to invest in its development and readiness," Shoigu said. "Our nuclear deterrent is the ultimate guarantor of our sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we will never compromise on that."
We will also increase the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces, both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defense systems are in operation, and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles.
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Ukraine was hit by another wave of missile strikes at the start of the week, with Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Kherson all being targeted.
Two women were killed in an attack on a village market in the Kharkiv region, while another civilian was killed in an attack on Kherson. A handful of other civilian casualties were also reported.
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A number of settlements and civilian infrastructure were struck in attacks on Zaporizhzhia and the surrounding area of Bakhmut. This fighting is centered in Donetsk.
The Ukrainian armed forces' General Staff said in an operational update on Facebook Tuesday morning that in the past day, Russian forces had launched eight missile and 31 air strikes, as well as 63 MLRS attacks. These attacks included strikes on civilian infrastructure in the cities of Kharkiv, Kherson, Kramatorsk, and Ochakiv, resulting in casualties among the civilian population.
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The threat of enemy air and missile strikes on critical infrastructure in Ukraine is still high, according to a recent update. This poses a serious threat to the country's stability and security.
Ukraine has observed that Russian forces have been carrying out offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Lyman areas, and have been trying to improve their tactical position in the Kup’yans’k area. However, they have not been successful in their efforts to capture the Donetsk region.
The British Ministry of Defense has observed that Russian forces have made some tactical advances into Soledar, a town near Bakhmut, over the past four days. This is a significant development, as Bakhmut is a key target for the Russians.
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According to the latest intelligence update from Britain’s Ministry of Defense, Russian forces and their colleagues in the Russian private military company known as the Wagner Group have made “tactical advances” into the small Donbas town of Soledar in the last four days.
Soledar is located approximately 6 miles north of Bakhmut. The capture of Bakhmut is likely to remain Russia's "main immediate operational objective," according to the ministry.
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Although there have been recent advances into Soledar and increased pressure on nearby target Bakhmut, the ministry said that Russia is unlikely to envelop the town imminently because Ukrainian forces maintain stable defensive lines in depth and control over supply routes.
The ministry noted that Russia's Soledar axis could be an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication.
The fighting in the district has largely been focused on the entrances to the 200km-long disused salt mine tunnels. Both sides are likely concerned that these tunnels could be used for infiltration behind their lines.
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On Monday night, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that while Russian forces are currently focused on Soledar, the eventual outcome of the battle will be the liberation of the entire Donbas region.
He conceded that the fighting was difficult around Soledar, where there were barely any walls left standing.
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"Our warriors in Soledar have shown great resilience, giving us more time and power to help Ukraine," he said in his nightly address.
Russia's goals in the war were to gain territory and destroy the enemy. However, they lost thousands of soldiers and the land was left scarred and destroyed.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 4.9 million refugees have relocated to Poland.
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The conflict in Ukraine has led to civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, forcing people to flee their homes in search of safety, protection and assistance. In the first five weeks, more than four million refugees from Ukraine crossed borders into neighbouring countries, and many more have been forced to move inside the country.
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The Ukrainian authorities are looking for two British volunteers who went missing in Soledar, a city located in the Donetsk region. If you have any information about their whereabouts, please contact the authorities immediately.
On the morning of January 7, Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Perry left Kramatorsk. A little over twelve hours later, at 17:15, the police received a report about their disappearance, as Ukraine's national police stated in a statement to NBC News.

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The police are carrying out investigative actions to establish the whereabouts of the missing persons, the statement said.
Britain is considering supplying tanks to Ukraine for the first time since the war began, according to Sky News. This would be a significant move by the UK, and would likely increase tensions with Russia.
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According to a Western source with knowledge of the conversations, discussions have been taking place for a few weeks about the delivery of the British Army's Challenger 2 main battle tank.
A Ukrainian source told a news outlet that giving tanks to Ukraine would encourage other countries to do the same.
Although Ukraine's Western allies have supplied them with lighter combat vehicles and weaponry, they have been reluctant to provide heavier tanks out of fear that Russia will see it as an escalation.
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Ukraine has repeatedly asked Germany for Leopard 2 tanks, but Berlin has been cautious about supplying them. On Sunday, however, Germany Economy Minister Robert Habeck said such a supply could not be ruled out.
Ukraine's allies are meeting next week to discuss the conflict and possible new assistance for the country. According to Sky News, no final decision has been made on whether to supply Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense has not confirmed or denied the suggestion.
Belarus and Russia will begin a joint tactical air exercise on January 16, which will continue until February 1, according to the Belarusian Defense Ministry. This was reported by state news agency BelTA.

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The Russian aerospace forces arrived in Belarus on Sunday, according to BelTA. The forces are expected to use all of Belarus' airfields and training areas during a tactical exercise.
The latest report on joint military exercises by allies Belarus and Russia comes days after another statement from the defense ministry that stated that the buildup of the regional military force of Belarus and Russia continues for the sake of ensuring the military security of the Union State of Belarus and Russia.
The joint regional military force is continuing to grow, with Russian personnel, weapons, and military hardware arriving in Belarus. This build-up is sure to increase tensions in the region.
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According to BelTA, army units arriving in Belarus will take part in combat shakedown events in Belarusian military exercise areas.
Belarus' President Alexander Lukashenko has repeatedly stressed that the country will not enter the Ukraine war as an active participant. However, Minsk has allowed Russia to launch attacks on Ukraine from its territory and has provided logistical support to its neighbor. Joint military exercises with Russia, plus the formation of a joint military unit between the countries, have only deepened suspicions that Belarus could look to support Russia on the battlefield as the war drags on.
The defense ministry of Belarus has announced that the decision to create a Belarusian-Russian regional military force in Belarus is purely for the sake of enhancing the security and defense of the Union State of Belarus and Russia. This force will help to protect the border from any potential threats.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that the situation on the front line in eastern Ukraine has not changed significantly in the first week of the year. Heavy fighting is still taking place in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, particularly around Bakhmut and Soledar.
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"Bakhmut is holding out against all odds," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address Sunday.

"Most of the city is destroyed by Russian strikes, but our warriors are repelling constant attempts at a Russian offensive.""Solder is also holding out," he continued. "There is even more destruction there, but it is extremely hard."
"There is no such piece of land near these two cities where the occupier would not have given his life for the crazy ideas of the masters of the Russian regime," he said. "This is one of the bloodiest places on the frontline."

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Zelenskyy said additional units were being deployed to the area in a bid to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses and intensify attacks on Russian forces.
Two women were killed in a missile attack on a village market. The UK is reportedly considering offering tanks to Kyiv in response.