President Vladimir V. Putin is on his third overall commander in Ukraine. But his military’s fundamental issues have not been addressed, Western officials say.
After Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops had taken Soledar, a leader of the Wagner mercenary group accused the military of stealing credit. Ukraine said its forces were still fighting there.
Allies of President Vladimir V. Putin contradicted each other about battlefield progress, as a war command shake-up put another Kremlin loyalist in charge.
The Russian leader has dropped the pretense that life goes on as normal despite the war, evident in the Kremlin’s quick acknowledgment of mass casualties inflicted by Ukraine last weekend.