• 6:42 a.m .: Russian group Wagner claims to control the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine

The leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said his fighters took control of the Ukrainian town of Soledar after heavy fighting this week, adding that "urban battles" are continuing.

"Wagner's units have taken control of the entire territory of Soledar," said Yevgeny Prigozhin through his press service on social networks, adding that fighting is taking place in the center of the city, making the extent uncertain. of the Russian group's control over the city.

AFP was unable to verify his statements.

>> War in Ukraine: why Moscow wants to conquer Soledar at all costs

Ukraine said its army was resisting attacks in Soledar, located in the Donetsk region, some 15 km from Bakhmout, which Russia has been trying to conquer for months.

Both sides reported intense and bloody fighting in Soledar.

  • 1:48 a.m.: Volodymyr Zelensky strips Ukrainian citizenship of four people including Viktor Medvedchuk, an ally of Putin

Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday stripped four prominent politicians of their Ukrainian citizenship, including pro-Kremlin politician Viktor Medvedchuk, who was transferred to Russia last year as part of a prisoner exchange.

“I have decided to terminate the citizenship of four people: Andriy Leonidovych Derkach, Taras Romanovych Kozak, Renat Raveliyovych Kuzmin and Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk,” the Ukrainian president said in his nightly video address.

"If people's deputies choose to serve not the Ukrainian people, but the murderers who came to Ukraine, our actions will be appropriate."

Viktor Medvedchuk, a close ally of the Kremlin leader, led a banned pro-Russian party - the "Opposition Platform - For Life" - in Ukraine and faced treason charges ahead of his transfer to Moscow in September 2022.

  • 12:37 a.m .: Kharkiv bombarded a few hours after the visit of a German minister

Russian shelling hit Kharkiv on Tuesday evening, hours after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to the northeastern Ukrainian city with her Ukrainian counterpart, who urged Germany to provide heavy armor.

"The longer such a decision is delayed, the more casualties there will be, the more civilians will die," said Ukrainian Minister Dmytro Kouleba.

An AFP journalist later heard several explosions in the city, relatively spared in recent times by Russian strikes.

"Stay in the shelters. The occupiers are bombing again!" Regional Governor Oleg Synegoubov warned on Telegram messaging.

With AFP and Reuters

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