Satellite images show destruction in Ukraine's Soledar and Bakhmut - Putin tries to change situation

Recent satellite images released on Wednesday (January 11) showed the destruction caused by intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces around the neighbouring towns of Soledar and Bakhmut on Ukraine's eastern frontline. The images by private U.S. company Maxar Technologies captured burnt out settlements in the mining town of Soledar and a field in Bakhmut scarred with shell craters. The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner said his forces had achieved the complete "liberation" of Soledar, killing around 500 pro-Ukraine troops. Minutes before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had mocked earlier Russian claims to control part of the town and said fighting continued. Reuters was unable to independently verify the situation in Soledar. If pro-Russian forces succeed in taking Soledar, it would be a stepping stone in Moscow's thrust to capture Ukraine's eastern Donbas industrial region. The town would be a base to attack the nearby city of Bakhmut, which has held out for months and is a supply line hub in eastern Ukraine.