Russia concentrates efforts on Soledar. Whole land near Soledar is covered with occupiers’ corpses and scars from strikes. There are no whole walls left - Volodymyr Zelenskyy

He said this in an evening address on January 9.

He thanked the defenders of Soledar and noted that it is thanks to their resilience that Ukraine now has "additional time and additional power." He also said that the general prospects for Ukraine in the coming weeks are Bakhmut, Soledar, Kreminna and Svatove.

"The battle for Donbas continues. And although the invaders have now concentrated their greatest efforts on Soledar, the result of this difficult and long battle will be the liberation of our entire Donbas. I thank all our warriors who defend our Bakhmut and demonstrate maximum resilience! I thank all the warriors in Soledar who withstand new and even tougher attacks of the occupiers! It is extremely difficult - there are almost no whole walls left... Due to the resilience of our warriors there, in Soledar, we have gained additional time and additional power for Ukraine," the President said.

Zelenskyy also noted that almost all of Soledar was destroyed, there was no life left in the city, and "the whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes." 

"This is what madness looks like," the head of state added.

• Hanna Malyar said that after an unsuccessful attempt to capture Soledar, Donetsk region, the enemy resumed a powerful assault on the city.