NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Jan. 11 that the alliance should step up its support for Ukraine amid fierce fighting for Bakhmut and Soledar in Donetsk Oblast.
“This shows once again the bravery of Ukrainian forces as they fight to defend their homeland. It also shows how vital it is that we step up our military support to Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told a news conference.
Stoltenberg welcomed recent support by the U.S., France, and Germany, which will soon deliver infantry fighting vehicles and light tanks to Ukraine. The support is making a real difference on the battlefield, Stoltenberg said.
Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine's Eastern Military Command, on Jan. 11 denied Russian claims that the town of Soledar in Donetsk Oblast is “under Russian control.”
“It is not true. Wait for details in the (upcoming) General Staff report," Cherevaty told Suspilne television.
Russian dictator Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Jan. 11 neither confirmed nor denied earlier reports that Russia had captured Soledar, saying that the public should wait for official announcements. He added that Russian troops had made progress in Soledar.
Russia's Defense Ministry alleged on Jan. 11 that Russian paratroopers had blocked Soledar from the north and south.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Kremlin-controlled mercenary group Wagner, claimed on Jan. 10 that the group had captured the whole of Soledar and encircled Ukrainian forces in the center of the town.
