Jan 14 (Reuters) – Russia said on Friday its forces had taken control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, in what was a rare success for Moscow after months of upheaval on the battlefield, but Kyiv says its troops are still fighting in the city.
Fight
* President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces were still fighting in Soledar, a small salt-mining town, and other towns in the Donetsk region.
* Reuters could not verify the accounts.
* CNN reported that reporters outside Soledar heard mortar and rocket fire on Friday evening and saw Ukrainian soldiers escorting soldiers in a retreat.
* Ultra-nationalist military commander Yevgeny Prigozhin, whose Wagner group includes prisoners who have pledged amnesty for the operation, complained after the Russian military took over Soledar without mentioning his heroes.
ARMS
* Finland joined Poland in saying it would send German-made Repard tanks to Ukraine as part of a Western coalition that appears to be putting them together.
* France hopes to deliver light combat tanks “AMX 10-RC” to Ukraine within two months, said the minister of armed forces Sebastien Lecornu.
* Belarus may join the war, a Russian ministry official said. Russia used Belarus as a springboard to attack Ukraine in February, but the region is already waterlogged, so there is no imminent attack from there. 4 p.m
TECHNOLOGY, ECONOMY
* Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, after meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington, emphasized the importance of standing up to Russia’s aggression, and said that if reform is not challenged one to power, and the same elsewhere, including in Asia – an apparent reference to China’s promise to reunite with self-governing Taiwan, by force if necessary.
* Russia is becoming increasingly dependent on oil revenues to support its budget as military spending increases, economists said, warning that the government may have to raise taxes if it doesn’t. This year’s salary will be met.
* A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for the confiscation of property and assets of Russians who disparage the armed forces and oppose the war in Ukraine.
* At least four Chinese carriers are shipping Russian Urals to China, according to trade sources and tracking data, as Moscow seeks shipments for export after the G7 oil prices restricted the use of freight and insurance services.
Compiled by Grant McCool and William Mallard
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