Sergei Surovikin

The fate of a devastated salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine hung in the balance Wednesday in one of the bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion, while Ukraine's unflagging resistance and other challenges prompted Moscow to shake up its military leadership again.

Russian forces used jets, mortars and rockets to bombard Soledar in an unrelenting assault.

Russian Armed Forces army general and Commander of the Aerospace Forces, Sergei Surovikin, was first asked about the concern of Russian citizens regarding the situation on the battlefield today. "In general, the situation in the special military operation zone could be described as tense. The enemy does not give up trying to attack the positions of Russian troops", he pointed out.

Russia announced the evacuation of civilians from a key southern Ukrainian city Tuesday as it acknowledged the situation for its troops on the ground in Ukraine was "tense" in the face of a counter-offensive.

According to reports, this decision was made at the moment when Lieutenant Colonel Nikolay Gorban (36), who led elite Spetsnaz special forces troops, was allegedly killed in Ukraine.