Russia-Ukraine war at a glance: what we know on day 323 of the invasion

Russian mercenaries make claim about missing Britons; Ukrainian military claims forces killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in single strike

Russian mercenaries the Wagner Group claimed its forces found the body of one of two British voluntary aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine. It did not give the name of the dead man but said documents belonging to both Britons had been found on his body. A photo posted alongside the statement appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing workers. Ukrainian police said on Monday they were looking for the pair who went missing. A spokesperson for Britain’s Foreign Office added: “We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.”

The latest intelligence update from the UK Ministry of Defence said over the last two days heavy fighting has continued around the town of Soledar, Donetsk oblast, and on the approaches to Kremina, Luhansk oblast.

The Ukrainian military has claimed its forces killed more than 100 Russian soldiers in a single strike in Soledar. Ukrainian forces reportedly launched a missile at Russian troops, the command of Ukraine’s special operations forces said in an update early this morning.

Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, mocked Russian claims to have taken over parts of the eastern city of Soledar, and said that fighting is ongoing. “The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend” to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Zelenskiy said in his Wednesday evening address, “but the fighting continues”. Ukraine’s military also denied that Russian forces have encircled and captured Soledar after claims by the head of the Wagner mercenary group that the mining town had fallen.

Russia appointed Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff, as its overall commander for the war in Ukraine, in the latest of several major shake-ups of Moscow’s military leadership. Russia’s defence ministry said the changes were designed to “improve the quality … and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces” in a statement on Wednesday. Gerasimov has faced sharp criticism from Russia’s hawkish military bloggers for multiple setbacks on the battlefield.

The British government is planning to provide tanks to Ukraine to help the country defend itself, according to a spokesperson for Number 10. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday the spokesperson said that prime minister Rishi Sunak, has asked defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to “work with partners” and to provide further support to Ukraine “including the provision of tanks”. “It’s clear that battle tanks could provide a game-changing capability to the Ukrainians,” he said. “The prime minister told President Zelenskiy last week the UK will provide whatever we can.”

Poland plans to send 10 German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition, the Polish president said on a visit to Lviv on Wednesday. The transfer would require permission from Germany, which Kyiv has been pressing separately to supply Leopard 2s, perhaps suggesting a softening of Germany’s stance on the transfer of main battle tanks after recent contacts between Warsaw and Berlin. However, a German government spokesperson said it was not aware of any requests from allies to send the tanks to Ukraine.