Russia intensifies assaults on Ukrainian salt mining town and eastern front

FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy delivers his annual speech to lawmakers during a session of the Ukrainian Parliament, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine December 28, 2022. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV/SIVERSK, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russia has stepped up a "powerful assault" led by the Wagner contract militia on Soledar in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv said on Monday, describing a difficult situation for forces repelling waves of attacks around the salt mining town and nearby fronts.

Soledar, in the industrial Donbas region, lies a few miles from Bakhmut, where troops from both sides have been taking heavy losses in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago.