Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces were withstanding “new and even tougher assaults on Soledar”, near the city of Bakhnmut that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. According to footage broadcast by Russia’s Wagner paramilitary group, street fighting is taking place in central Soledar, near the municipal administration building. At 4 am on January 10, Ukraine’s military command said it repelled a Russian attempt to seize the two cities. On Monday morning, pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine claimed that they had captured Bakhmutske, a village northeast of Bakhmut and adjacent to Soledar. 

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s forces resumed their counteroffensive in Luhansk oblast near the towns of Svatove and Kreminna, UNIAN reported.

The United States shall seek to change the dynamics of Ukrainian defence by increasing military aid to Kyiv, which will include armoured vehicles and air defence systems. We will continue to provide Ukraine with the security assistance it needs, State Department Spokesman Ned Price said.