Ukrainian officials
insist the small town of Soledar
has not been lost to Russian forces
despite claims
by the owner of a Russian mercenary
army known as the Wagner Group,
which is now in control,
claims
the Kremlin has been unwilling t
instead saying
only there has been a positive t
Meantime, a CNN crew
not far from the front lines
of Solidaire reports
the sound of outgoing artillery
and say Ukrainian troops
appear to be calm.
One soldier
saying the situation is difficul
The next 24 hours will be critic
You said images of homes and apa
before the battle for some of th
and what the area looks like now
So mining town
not far from the Sea of Barmouth
which has been under siege
by Russian forces for weeks.
Ukraine's president
says the Russian offensive to co
holiday has a lot more to do
with claiming a victory.
Any victory,
it seems that any kind of strate
that us the solidarity,
the terrorist state
and propagandists
are trying to pretend
that some part of our city are s
are almost completely destroyed
by the occupiers
as some kind of achievement of R
They will present this to their
in order to support mobilization
and to give hope to those
who are for aggression.
But the fighting continues.
The donor's front is holding a l
of the battle for solidarity alr
one of the most brutal
and bloody of the war so far.
And Ukrainian
officials are urging residents
of the towns and surrounding vil
who are still there
to evacuate ahead
of that Russian offensive.
But as CNN's Ben Wedeman reports
not far from Soledad,
many are determined to stay
All right.
Medics load
a wounded soldier on to an ambul
Another casualty from the
embattled town of Solid Solider
Routine Day.
25 with stops to pursue.
It varies
depending on the number of casua
on the front line
to keep up with starting up
Russian forces,
mostly troops from the group
the private military company
claimed to have control
of the entire solider territory
The battle for solider
may be in its final stages,
and it doesn't appear to be goin
well for the Ukrainians.
And if indeed the Russians do
emerge victorious,
the villages around
it may be the next to fall.
Ukraine's helicopters
still flying sorties.
Its forces are giving ground eas
One soldier says it's difficult,
but we're hanging in there.
Despite the fighting.
Yeah, he's staying put with her.
Pigs and cows
in her home in a nearby village
could do it ferociously.
We won't leave, she says.
You can only die once.
I will not abandon my house.
To reach her.
81 year
old mother,
Ludmila, has lived here
for more than 40 years.
We really had a good life here,
We see that
said, Gosh, go ahead.
This solider military administra
He assured us that I'm deliverin
he says,
and reminding people
they need
to evacuate before it's too late
He'll start.
Svetlana says she'll heed his ca
You tell everyone is tired, she
We can't take it any longer.
As solider burns,
there's little time to waste.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, outside.
Solider
Another shakeup of Russian milit
commanders with Vladimir Putin
appointing
head of the Russian general staf
General Valery,
good rises above to oversee
all Russian military forces. In
He replaces
General Sergei
sell off a kid
who had the job for just three m
The official reason,
according to the Kremlin,
to improve coordination
among all military branches.
Vladimir Putin
says he's hoping to solve the
most critical issues.
We used to visit Boston.
I understand
that the situation in new region
is difficult.
In some places, combat
actions are ongoing.
Peaceful
life has not been restored every
And the safety of people
has not been ensured.
Of course,
all these factors
should be taken into considerati
But all this is not the reason
to take a break and postpone for
Joining me now from Brisbane is
Australian Army Major General Mi
General, thank you for being with us, sir
Hi, John.
Here's how one adviser
to Ukraine's president
described the fighting around so
And back for some of this,
please. You said when you read the words
of everything
that is happening
today in the direction of Bermud
or solider
is the bloodiest scenario of thi
A lot of blood, a lot of artille
a lot of contact combat,
especially in solider
It seems that strategic value of
is inversely proportional
to the size, scale
and intensity of this Russian of
To try and take it,
so will
the destruction be so extensive,
so high in terms of blood and tr
for the Russians that a win
will ultimately be a loss
Well, I think it will be a
Pyrrhic victory
if indeed they do have a victory
They've wasted
thousands of Russian
lives, mobilized troops
in some of the elite troops.
They think some care enough
to withdraw away
at the military value of solider
and what is is very low.
So given the resources
I've expended, it's
a very poor return on investment
for the Russian military
once a year out to this war.
And it seems to still be
almost role reversal here.
The Russians are the ones
on the fence trying to hold onto territ
they have.
The Ukrainians are on offense
trying to force them back
and reclaim that ground.
And that means the Ukrainians
don't need a lot more firepower.
So that my here's the president
who is visiting Lviv
and Ukraine on Wednesday.
So this is starting to feature l
We decided that the moment
for Poland to decisively support
Ukraine has come.
The company of leopard tanks
will be handed
over as part of coalition
building society, a company of t
That sounds great but what it's
and you know right now
the US is not committing tanks.
The Germans are sort of on the o
committing leopard tanks.
The British with likely the chal
But they're getting a lot
more than 14 tanks in Poland
on D-Day.
Are they going to need hundreds
But the reality is
the Poles
have really given their fair sha
They've given
the Ukrainians over
250 of their Soviet era tanks.
The reality
is they're giving these weapons
to Ukraine to force Germany
and other European nations
to give more weapons as well.
Ukraine needs M-1 and lipid tank
not old SOVIET-ERA tanks at the
and needs lots of them.
But the United States has, what,
about 2001
Abrams tanks
sitting in the desert in Califor
doing absolutely nothing.
Why not send a few hundred of th
to Ukraine?
Well,
you'd have to ask the US adminis
but with Bradleys on the way
now, the ones could well be next
A very fine tank.
I've certainly commanded a briga
with them myself in Australia
and we we shouldn't overestimate
the logistic difficulties.
Ukrainians are very canny.
They've proven themselves able t
advanced equipment before
they'd be able to do
the same within months.
I want you to
listen to what
the Russian president told his c
The ongoing fighting in territor
which Moscow recently illegally
Here he is
When you actually thought of no
I understand
that the situation in new region
is difficult.
In some places, combat
actions are ongoing.
Peaceful life
hasn't been restored everywhere.
And the safety of people
hasn't been ensured.
Yeah, it's difficult,
but nothing to see here.
Actions, though,
often speak louder than words.
And after just three months
in charge
of the Russian forces
in Ukraine, general Armageddon
has been set.
Putin's replaced him
with the chief of general staff.
So what does this latest shakeup
say about Putin's thinking here?
And does it mean anything in ter
of how the Russians may
change their tactics or plan to
in the months ahead?
Well, I think it says more
about palace politics in Moscow
than it does
about battlefield outcomes in Uk
Sort of.
It has actually been
probably the better
Russian commander of this war.
And that's a very low bar, to be
Get us some roles as being fairl
So far during this war.
So we shouldn't
expect him
taking over command
to make any difference
significantly on the battlefield
It's really a power play to ensu
the Russian military overcomes
the influence that Wagner is now
having in Moscow and beyond.
Retired U.S.
Army Major General Mike Ryan
so thank you for your time.
Thank you for being with us
and your insights very much.
Appreciate it. Thank you.