The nearly 600 civilians trapped in Soledar, as reported by Ukrainian media, are trying to survive a “bloodbath” as Russian forces pummel the eastern salt mining town, an official said Thursday. Russian forces “are burning everything on their way,” the Kyiv-appointed governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said in televised remarks.
He said Ukrainian forces could not evacuate the civilians amid the heavy fighting. The battle for the town — just a short distance from Bakhmut — has intensified in recent days as Russian soldiers and Wagner Group mercenaries attempt to encircle Ukrainian units there.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
4. From our correspondents
Russia’s new commander reflects Putin’s plan to push for victory in Ukraine: With the appointment of Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Russia’s highest-ranking military officer, as direct operational commander of the troubled war in Ukraine, Putin has doubled down on his conviction that the invasion’s objectives can be achieved without new leadership — and is now turning to a trusted confidant who will carry out his orders without question.
Gerasimov, 67, an army general and deputy defense minister, has been chief of the General Staff for more than a decade and is a Kremlin insider who had a key role in planning the war, The Post’s Francesca Ebel reports. As head of the joint forces in Ukraine, he replaces Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who in three months leading the war effort was credited with stabilizing Russia’s positions after Ukraine recaptured large swaths of territory.
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