Fighting for Soledar, shelling of Kharkiv Oblast, deprivation of five MPs of their mandates: today's highlights

Fighting for Soledar continues

Fighting for the city of Soledar, Bakhmut Raion, Donetsk Oblast, is still ongoing. Russia claimed to have completely captured it.

This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces in the evening report.

Currently, the Ukrainian military have not officially released details of the situation in Soledar. The General Staff reported that on January 13, Russian troops in the Bakhmut direction shelled this city, as well as Spirne, Bilohorivka, Rozdolivka, Yakovlivka, Krasna Hora, Bakhmut, Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka, Druzhba and Pivnichne in Donetsk Oblast.

President of the European Commission and more than 10 European Commissioners will visit Ukraine

The Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and more than ten European Commissioners will visit Ukraine in the coming weeks. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal at a government meeting.

“We see that our European partners are committed to productive cooperation in the issue of integration. A clear indication of this will be the visit of the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the coming weeks,” he said.

The Prime Minister expects that together with the head of the European Commission more than 10 European Commissioners will arrive in Ukraine to hold intergovernmental consultations.

Germany may decide on tanks for Ukraine next week

Germany may make a decision on Leopard battle tanks for Ukraine as early as next week as European allies assess how to help the Ukrainian government in the event of intensified fighting in the spring. Bloomberg writes about this with reference to “two German officials familiar with the government's thinking”.

According to the newspaper's sources, Germany is likely to decide to supply Leopard tanks amid increasing calls to Berlin. However, as of January 12, no concrete decision has been made yet, although the pressure on Germany is increasing.

Shelling of Kharkiv Oblast

Russian occupation troops shelled Dvorichna village, Kupiansk Raion, Kharkiv Oblast with artillery on January 13. This was reported by the head of the regional military administration Oleh Syniehubov.

According to preliminary information, two women aged 59 and 64 died as a result of the shelling of residential buildings. Another 63-year-old woman was wounded and hospitalized.

Dvorichna was also under enemy fire in the morning. Then a 68-year-old man was wounded in the village – doctors assessed his condition as moderate.

Verkhovna Rada deprived Medvedchuk and four other deputies of their mandates

The Verkhovna Rada deprived five deputies of their mandates. This was reported by a deputy from the Voice Yaroslav Zhelezniak.

Viktor Medvedchuk, Taras Kozak, Andrii Derkach, and Renat Kuzmin were deprived of their mandates due to loss of citizenship. Andrii Aksionov was deprived of his deputy powers due to his own statement.