Russia targets civilians in Dnipro as Soledar falls

Vladimir Putin recently put the 67-year-old Valery Gerasimov, head of the General Staff of the Russian army on Ukrainian territory to replace General Sergey Surovikin, and the effect has been direct, with new massive attacks by Russian troops under this new military command in Ukraine, including targets such as Dnipro, and even the definitive capture of Soledar. 

Dnipro, Ukraine's fourth most populous city with nearly one million inhabitants, located in central Ukraine 391 kilometres southeast of the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, and on the Dnieper River, after which it is named, has been the latest significant target of the massive offensives. Meanwhile, the Russian army has also occupied the last industrial zone on the outskirts of the disputed city of Soledar, in the east of the Ukrainian country, leaving it entirely in Russian hands, as the Ukrainian armed forces themselves reported in a statement released on social networks. In this way, the situation in Ukraine continues to worsen as a result of the enemy invasion.  

In Dnipro, Russia has provoked a massacre of civilians with a bombardment this weekend on a residential building in this city, leaving around 35 civilians dead and more than 75 wounded, including 14 children, as denounced by the Ukrainian authorities. Meanwhile, 39 people were unharmed in the attack.  

The head of the military administration of the Dnipropetrovsk region, Valentin Reznichenko, in a statement reported by Ukrainska Pravda, also said that the search was on for more than 40 missing residents.  

"In the evening, rescuers pulled several more dead from under the rubble of a high-rise building destroyed by a Russian rocket (...) The enemy attack has already claimed the lives of 35 residents of the building. Among them are two children," said Reznichenko, who said that "almost 3,500 tons of rubble" had been removed in an operation involving "more than 550 rescuers, police, doctors, public service workers and volunteers" who have been working "tirelessly".  

The building was reduced to rubble, causing terror among the population. The building was hit by a Kh-22 missile, designed to destroy aircraft carrier groups at sea, hence the destructive power of the offensive, which left at least 72 homes destroyed and 230 others badly damaged, as reported by the EFE news agency. 

"Search and dismantling operations for dangerous structural elements continue. Without pause. We continue to fight for every life," President Zelenski said on Sunday, offering his condolences to the families affected.  

In the aftermath of this heavy blow, work is concentrating on the sites where the Russian missiles hit. According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal, more than 30 missiles were launched on Ukraine in a single day. Moscow's attacks also targeted energy infrastructure facilities, Shmigal said. "The most difficult situation is in Kharkov and Kiev," he said.  

For its part, Russia claimed that the tragedy in Dnipro was caused by Kiev's anti-aircraft system, denying that it deliberately targeted the residential building in Dnipro. "Russian forces do not attack residential buildings or civilian infrastructure facilities. Attacks are carried out against military targets," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 

The Russian army has occupied the last industrial zone on the outskirts of the disputed eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar, leaving it entirely in Russian hands, the Ukrainian armed forces said in a statement. At around 5.30 p.m. local time on Sunday, Russian assault units occupied the industrial zone, located on the administrative border of the town of Soledar on its western outskirts, Ukrainian drone unit commander Robert Brovdy said on Telegram. "From now on, the frontline will be close, but outside the city limits. A positional war was taking place in this direction," the Ukrainian commander detaile.

The area had been the subject of heavy fighting and there were doubts about the seizure of Soledar as the Wagner Group, a private military company fighting for the Kremlin, announced the seizure of the town, while Moscow was more cautious and Kiev denied this outright in recent days. But finally, Ukrainian confirmation of the fall of the eastern Ukrainian city has come. Soledar is a city belonging to the Donetsk Oblast, one of the points most punished by Russia and pro-Russian militias in the area, located in the east of the country and close to the area of Bajmut, also seriously besieged by the Russian Armed Forces and a hotspot of the fighting in the Dombash region. 

From a military point of view, Soledar is important mainly because of its location. The town is about 15 kilometres northeast of Bajmut. Both towns have been under enemy fire since the beginning of the Russian invasion in February 2022. Since last summer, Russian forces, mainly Wagner Group mercenaries, have been trying to conquer Bajmut and now it is compromised by the fall of Soledar, which is relevant because it is of great strategic importance. Bakhmut could serve to open the way for the Russian army to the western cities, especially Kramatorsk, an important industrial and administrative centre in Donetsk Oblast, which is still under Kiev's control. Between Bakhmut and Kramatorsk is about 50 kilometres and the Ukrainian army has built several defence zones along this route.