here in the uk, 2022 saw the highest number of excess deaths outside the covid pandemic in half a century. and france tries again to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. it s an unpopular reform that didn t go well last time it tried. we ll be live in paris. we start in ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky has said ukraine s army is facing an extremely difficult situation as fighting continues in the eastern donbas region. the focus is the salt mining town of soledar. the uk defence ministry says it s likely that russian forces including wagner group mercenaries now control most of the town. we ll be taking a look at why it s become central to this conflict. but first, here s president zelensky. translation: and what did russia want to win there? i everything is completely destroyed. there was almost no life left. thousands of their people are gone, the whole land in soledar is covered with the corpses of the invaders and scarred from the strikes. this is what madness loo
president zelensky. translation: and what did russia want to win there? i everything is completely destroyed. there was almost no life left. thousands of their people are gone, the whole land in soledar is covered with the corpses of the invaders and scarred from the strikes. this is what madness looks like. so why is soledar important? have a look at this map soledar is close to the city of bakhmut. it s located on a strategic supply line between the donetsk and luhansk regions. taking it opens the way to bigger cities. we also know that russia and ukraine want control of the large salt mines in the area. the uk ministry of defence says both countries are likely concerned that the tunnels in the mines could be used for infiltration behind their lines. we ve been hearing from a photojournalist who s been documenting the fighting in the area. it s nonstop, the shelling is relentless.