Ukraine says its forces repel constant Russian attacks in east

Ukraine is strengthening its forces in the eastern Donbas region and repelling constant attacks on Bakhmut and other towns there by Russian mercenary group Wagner, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday.

Reinforcements had been sent to Soledar, a small town near Bakhmut where the situation was particularly difficult, they said.

"The enemy again made a desperate attempt to storm the city of Soledar from different directions and threw the most professional units of the Wagnerites into battle," Ukraine's military said in a statement.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in nightly video remarks on Sunday that Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction.

"Our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance," he said. In Soledar "things are very difficult".

Further north in the Kharkiv region, a Russian missile strike on the local market wounded seven civilians, including a 13-year-old girl, the regional center of emergency medical assistance said.