By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 2 hours ago, updated 1 hour ago
A Ukrainian soldier at a front line near the Donetsk region town of Soledar January 14, 2023. RFE/RL/SERHII NUZHNENKO/ Portal
UPDATE ON THE SITUATION – The military spokesman for the eastern zone of Ukraine Sergiy Cherevaty announced the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Soledar. Fighting is raging in Bakhmout.
With fighting in several districts of Bakhmout and acknowledging the loss of Soledar, Le Figaro takes stock of the war in Ukraine this Wednesday, January 25.
Ukraine increases penalties for disobedience and desertion in the army
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday promulgated a law toughening penalties for military disobedience and desertion amid the Russian invasion, text that has been criticized by human rights defenders.
According to the text published on the website of the Ukrainian parliament, which adopted it in December, the facts involved are disobeying orders, threatening a commander, deserting and fleeing the battlefield, or drinking alcohol.
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In particular, it prohibits courts from reducing sentences or imposing suspended sentences on soldiers found guilty. This provision has met with strong criticism, although the severity of penalties has not changed significantly under the new law.
Ukrainian soldiers face up to 12 years in prison for desertion, up to 10 years for disobedience or refusal to fight, and up to seven years for threatening a superior. During its discussion in Parliament, the text was criticized by human rights defenders and several organizations called on the President not to sign it.
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A petition against the law registered on the presidency’s website had gathered nearly 35,000 signatures in December. “Instead of thanking the military for nearly a year repelling a full-scale Russian invasion and conducting successful operations to liberate territory, we get jail terms for the slightest disagreement or remark to commanders,” the petition charges.
The draft law, on the other hand, was supported by Ukraine’s chief of staff, Valery Zalouzhny. According to him, the commanders on the ground “requested a systematic solution to this problem” and “quick and effective decisions are required in wartime conditions”. “The army is disciplined. And when loopholes in the legislation do not guarantee their compliance (…), this leads to increased losses,” he stated on Telegram in December.
Soledar ceded to Russian forces
The Ukrainian army on Wednesday acknowledged that it had ceded the eastern town of Soledar to the Russians two weeks after Moscow announced its capture.
“After months of difficult fighting (…) Ukrainian forces left it” to “retreat to prepared positions,” Eastern Zone military spokesman Serguiï Tcherevaty told AFP, but refused to specify the timing of this retreat.
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The Russians claim an advance at Bakhmout, the epicenter of the conflict
According to a Russian occupation official, Russian troops on Wednesday claimed advances into Bakhmout, the epicenter of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, where fighting is raging in some parts of the city.
“Rather tough hostilities continue in Bakhmout (…) Fighting is already taking place somewhere in the outskirts, and somewhere in those quarters that were still held by the enemy until recently,” said Denis Pouchiline, head of the Russian occupation in Donetsk region, quoted by Russian news agencies. According to him, Russian troops, especially mercenaries from the Wagner paramilitary group, are “on the rise”.
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Bakhmout, which had a population of 70,000 before the conflict, has been repeatedly attacked by Russian troops since the summer, but they have so far failed to breach Ukraine’s defences. The largely devastated city, whose strategic importance experts dispute, has become the scene of heavy casualties on both sides in recent months.
According to Denis Pushilin, the breach at Soledar, further north, that Russia claimed earlier in January “played a key role” in the current pushes at Bakhmout. The capture of this city “made it possible to block the enemy’s supply routes and partially take operational control of areas” from which the Ukrainians attacked Russian positions, he continued.
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The leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, informed him on Tuesday evening through his press service that “the purpose of taking Bakhmout is to destroy the Ukrainian army near the city and prevent any offensive in all directions.”
“All combat-ready units of the Ukrainian armed forces will be sent to Bakhmout and the Wagner group will destroy them, opening up opportunities for action in other directions of the front,” he said. The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed Russian attacks on Bachmout and its surroundings in its daily report on Wednesday.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, “Russian forces have made marginal territorial gains in Bakhmout.” He also noted reports of an ongoing Russian offensive at Vougledar further south.