Every week we wrap up the must-reads from our coverage of the Ukraine war, from news and features to analysis, visual guides and opinion.
Wagner claimed to have taken control of Soledar
The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has claimed his forces completed the takeover of the Ukrainian town of Soledar, an assertion Ukraine denies. If a takeover is confirmed, it would mark Moscow’s first major battlefield success since last summer. Shaun Walker, Peter Beaumont, Pjotr Sauer and Dan Sabbagh reported this story.
“Wagner units have taken the whole territory of Soledar under control,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin in an audio message released on his Telegram channel late on Tuesday. Prigozhin said Ukrainian troops were surrounded in the centre of the town and “there are street battles ongoing”
Peter Beaumont took a closer look at the recent fierce fighting in Soledar, where hundreds of civilians remain trapped, according to Ukrainian officials. Kyiv said on Thursday its troops were “holding on”.
Putin’s military reshuffle is more about politics than a change of strategy
Another month, another Russian military reshuffle: Vladimir Putin changes the general in charge of his forces in Ukraine with something of the frequency of a Premier League club desperate to secure immediate success, says Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor.
It is obvious that such inconsistency demonstrates that the Kremlin is dissatisfied with the conduct of the war but the decision to replace General Sergei Surovikin with General Valery Gerasimov as head of the invasion is eye-catching for other reasons too.
Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin and Surovikin are allies, who many believe hope to usurp the Kremlin military establishment of Gerasimov and his immediate boss, defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
The reshuffle comes at just the moment when Prigozhin’s Wagner private military group appears to be, finally, making ground in Soledar. As Prigozhin not very tactfully claimed earlier: “No one except for Wagner took part in the storm of Soledar.”
Western powers mull donating tanks sought by Ukraine
Germany’s foreign minister visited the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv this week, promising more weapons and giving hope that Berlin will release Leopard 2 tanks to help break the deadlock in the near 11-month war, Dan Sabbagh reported.
Poland announced that it planned to transfer 10 German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine, although Germany denied it had received such a request from Warsaw.
Annalena Baerbock’s surprise trip – in conjunction with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba – also saw her promise further humanitarian aid during Ukraine’s deep winter and help for Kyiv in its efforts to join the EU.
Meanwhile Britain is planning to supply a handful of Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, a spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said the prime minister had asked his defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to “work with partners” and to provide further support to Ukraine “including the provision of tanks”. Ukraine is hoping a positive move by the UK could help persuade Germany to follow suit.
Ukraine has been asking for British tanks “since summer”, a second source said. But the reality is that the UK, with a total fleet of 227, has a small supply compared with what is made by Germany and the US.
Surgeons removed unexploded grenade near a soldier’s heart
A Ukrainian soldier had successful surgery to remove an unexploded grenade from his chest, Samantha Lock reported. Surgeons removed the explosive from just beneath the heart of the injured serviceman, while two sappers ensured the operation was conducted safely, said Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy minister of defence, who uploaded an image apparently showing an X-ray of the ordnance inside the soldier’s body.
“Military doctors conducted an operation to remove a VOG grenade, which did not break, from the body of the soldier,” she wrote in a Facebook post.
Anton Gerashchenko, Ukraine’s internal affairs ministerial adviser, said the team of sappers neutralised the munition, and described the procedure as one that would “go down in medical textbooks”.
The operation was carried out without using electrocoagulation — a common method to control bleeding during surgery — because “the grenade could detonate at any moment”, Maliar said.
How Zelenskiy became Hollywood’s man of the hour
When Ben Stiller walked into the office of Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, in June, he embraced the wartime leader telling him, “You’re my hero.”
Stiller is just one in a line of stars from the entertainment world who made the long journey to Kyiv to meet Zelenskiy – himself a former actor and comedian, Isobel Koshiw reported. A journey that involves an overnight train journey from Poland as commercial flights – let alone private jets – cannot fly in Ukraine’s airspace for safety reasons.
According to those who have followed and been involved in Zelenskiy’s communications efforts, it was the president who kept Hollywood following events after the initial media spike subsided. “He’s a natural at orating because of his background,” said Nikki Fowler, the president of the Hollywood Critics Association, who is also half-Ukrainian. “I think that resonates with a lot of celebrities.”
‘It is challenging to bake in a warzone’
Photograph: Toby Andrew/Alamy
Anna Makievska’s Bakehouse in Kyiv was one of the first to spearhead sourdough in Ukraine. She wrote about the difficulties war brought in terms of providing one of the staples of life: bread. “In October 2021 we finally opened our very new bakery – Bakehouse Garage – in the Podil district of Kyiv. This is the bakery of my dreams, and we spent three years and US$1.5m building it. But during the first days of the war, we had attacks and explosions just a few kilometres away, so we had to close it on 24 February. Instead we baked in the basement of the old bakery,” she wrote.
“From day three of the war, my team has baked bread and given it for free to our soldiers, hospitals, people in cities and villages hurt by the Russians, and the elderly of Kyiv. Our bakers make 450 to 1,000 charity loaves every day. And we will continue to bake them as long as our country needs them. It is challenging to bake in a warzone. It is hard to find and deliver good ingredients, and not all the members of our team are able to come and work.”
Banksy art auction targeted by online attacks
An online auction of Banksy prints to raise funds for Ukraine was targeted by thousands of “hostile attacks” from within Russia, arts and culture correspondent Nadia Khomami reported.
The world-renowned graffiti artist announced a set of 50 new limited edition screenprints via the Legacy of War Foundation to raise funds to support “our friends in Ukraine”. The international charity, based in the UK, provides support to civilians affected by conflict.
Fans had to register online for the prints, which depict a mouse sliding down the side of a box with “FRAGILE” printed on it, and cost £5,000 each. But according to the Legacy of War Foundation, there were problems with rogue registrations.
“We are currently sifting through the registered entries and will notify successful applicants shortly,” the charity said in a statement on its website. “Thank you for your support. The site received over 1 million requests (and 3,500 hostile attacks from Russian IP addresses), so we appreciate your patience at this time.”
