Victorious news of 329th day of war: "meat grinder" for Wagner mercenaries in Soledar, world promises Ukraine more weapons

Espreso TV has compiled a selection of positive news of January 18 that will help you stay optimistic even in the most difficult times.

The world promises a lot of weapons

The US is preparing one of the largest military aid packages for Ukraine, Canada has announced the delivery of 200 armored personnel carriers to Ukraine, Latvia will send Ukraine Stinger air defense systems, helicopters and drones, and the President of the European Council has stated the need to immediately provide Ukraine with tanks.

The President of the European Council Charles Michel spoke in favor of supplying Ukraine with tanks and emphasized that it should be done as soon as possible

"The time is now; they urgently need more equipment and I am personally in favor of supplying tanks to Ukraine," Michel said.

He noted that the EU will help Ukraine "as long as it takes.” In addition, the US is transferring ammunition to Ukraine, which is stored in warehouses in Israel. The US has sent or promised to send Ukraine a little over a million 155-millimeter shells. Much of it is from warehouses in Israel that were intended for use in conflicts in the Middle East. Israeli and US officials have reported that about half of the 300,000 rounds destined for Ukraine have already been shipped to Europe and will eventually be delivered via Poland.

Meanwhile, the European Parliament has called on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to immediately provide Ukraine with the necessary weapons, including Leopard 2 tanks. This is stated in the report on the implementation of the EU's Common Security and Defense Policy for 2022.

"MEPs call for the immediate deployment of modern weapons and a next-generation air defence system, urging German Chancellor Scholz to deliver Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine without further delay," the document says.

The officials emphasized that Ukraine is defending its territorial integrity within internationally recognized borders and urgently needs military assistance and heavy weapons to win the war.

Japan has a plan to support Ukraine

Japan is now actively engaged in the problems of Ukraine and is preparing to present plans to support the country in the war with Russia at the "appropriate time."

"Prime Minister Kishida has a game plan and is already engaged deeply on issues in Ukraine," said White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell at an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Last week, during a meeting with US President Joe Biden, the Japanese prime minister emphasized the importance of countering a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. He said that if the unilateral change in the status quo goes unchallenged, the same could happen in other countries, particularly in Asia.

Soledar is holding on, Wagner fighters are being mercilessly destroyed

Mykola Volokhov, commander of Terra reconnaissance unit, noted that small arms fighting continues for Soledar.

"I know that Bakhmut is standing and I believe that it will continue to stand. As for Soledar, according to the information I have, the fighting is still going on there, the fighting is very intense. From my experience, I want to say that I have never seen or heard anything like this. There is constant small arms fire. We are hitting the enemy with rocket artillery and aircraft. This is the most brutal war we have ever seen," emphasized Volokhov. The commander of the Terra reconnaissance unit also added that Russian troops used to fight using old Soviet tactics, and now they are trying to copy the model of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Former MP, Minister of the Interior and Prosecutor General, and now a serviceman, Yuriy Lutsenko, wrote about the extremely difficult battles in Soledar. And these battles bring massive losses to the Wagner group. 

"Soledar is a "meat grinder" for Wagner mercenaries, no matter how much Russia claims to have taken this town," Lutsenko said. He is confident that the deployment of the Wagner group led by Prigozhin to Soledar is their defeat rather than victory.

"They are there alone, being mercilessly eliminated by Ukrainian artillery from all types of weapons, mostly Western. The footage we later publish shows Wagner fighters running through the streets like mice or cockroaches from house to house until they are caught up by Ukrainian artillery.

The second important fact is that the Russian artillery is silent, completely silent. I have the impression that the bastard and fascist Prigozhin has played himself, he has challenged the Russian generals," Lutsenko said.

Ukrainian radio can be heard in occupied Horlivka 

Residents of the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk region will be able to listen to the Ukrainian military radio Army FM, reports the National Resistance Center.

"It is important to spread Ukrainian content deep into the temporarily occupied territories as much as possible. This is a support for our people and an opportunity to deliver useful information to the residents through another communication channel." 

The signal of Army FM radio has been extended for tens of kilometers in the Donetsk direction. In particular, it will now be available to residents of Horlivka. The station can be heard at 102.4 FM.

Ukrainian Armed Forces destroy a Russian helicopter and control center

Over the last day, the aviation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched 13 strikes on Russian personnel concentrations and 3 on the positions of anti-aircraft missile systems. In addition, Ukrainian defenders shot down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter and an experimental Russian reconnaissance Merlin-VR UAV . 

This was reported by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"At the same time, units of the missile troops and artillery of the Ukrainian Defense Forces hit 1 Russian control point, 1 concentration spot of manpower and 1 electronic warfare station," the General Staff said in the evening report.