War in Ukraine: Russia replaces the commander of its offensive, kyiv calls for long

► The Russian Chief of Staff appointed commander of the offensive in Ukraine

Russia again replaced, Wednesday, January 11, the commander of its offensive in Ukraine, this time appointing General Valeri Guerassimov, the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces. In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said that Valeri Gerasimov was appointed “commander of the combined troop grouping” deployed in Ukraine to replace Sergei Surovikin who arrived in this post only in November.

According to the ministry, this change is due to a “mission expansion” to fill in and ” need “ of one “closer interaction” between the components of the army.

► Fighting continues for control of Soledar and Bakhmout

Fighting for control of Soledar and Bakhmout in eastern Ukraineare the “bloodiest” for Russian and Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the Russian invasion, said Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense announced that “severe fighting” were continuing at Soledar, stating that the Russians had “tried to break through the defense” Ukrainian and “completely capture the city, but without success”. The Russian army had also confirmed fighting in this small town in the Donetsk region on Wednesday.

► kyiv wants long-range missiles and tanks to end the war in 2023

Ukraine can win the war within a year if Westerners increase arms deliveriesincluding longer-range missiles, said Wednesday Mykhailo Podoliak, promising that these systems will not be used to attack Russian territory.

“Only missiles with a range of more than 100 km will allow us to significantly accelerate the clearing of territories”, he said in an interview with AFP. He judges that the amplification of Western arms deliveries will lead to the end of the war “either late spring, or early summer, or summer, or probably fall”.

► Poland ready to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine

The Poland announced on Wednesday that it was ready to deliver Leopard tanks requested by kyiv to Ukraine, as part of an international coalition, the Polish president said on Wednesday. “A company of Leopard tanks (14 armored, Editor’s note) will be transmitted within the framework of a coalition which is being built”assured Andrzej Duda, during a joint press conference with his Ukrainian and Lithuanian counterparts, in Lviv in western Ukraine.

► Kyiv and Moscow call for Erdogan’s humanitarian intervention

Ukrainian and Russian human rights ombudsmen have called for the intervention of the Turkey in order to establish a “humanitarian corridor” and allow the exchange of about forty prisoners from the two countries, during a meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Ankara. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan assured in return that he was ” ready “ to play this role.

“We exchanged lists of military prisoners and we decided to return more than forty of them”, Russian representative Tatiana Moskalkova told the press.

► Kharkiv bombarded by the Russians on Tuesday evening

Russian bombardments hit Kharkiv on Tuesday evening, hours after the surprise visit to this city in northeastern Ukraine by the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock. She was accompanied by her Ukrainian counterpart who urged Germany to provide heavy armor.

“Stay in the shelters. The occupiers bomb again! »warned Oleg Synegoubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region.