Ukraine’s army has denied that Russian forces have encircled and captured the jap city of Soledar, after claims by the pinnacle of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, that the city had fallen.
Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesperson for the Japanese Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, mentioned: “Russians say that it’s below their management, it’s not true.”
Russia’s seize of Soledar and its large saltmines would have symbolic, army and industrial worth for Russia. However the scenario in and round Soledar appeared fluid and neither declare may very well be independently verified.
Prigozhin had launched {a photograph} exhibiting himself with a bunch of his fighters and a tank that he mentioned was taken in one of many tunnels of a saltmine within the south-west of the city.
Prigozhin additionally insisted that solely items of his paramilitary firm – a lot of them convicts who’ve been provided a pardon in the event that they battle for him – had been concerned in combating for the city.
Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, claimed that “onerous battles are occurring to maintain Soledar”.
“The enemy doesn’t take note of the big losses of its personnel and continues to actively storm. The approaches to our positions are merely plagued by the our bodies of useless enemy fighters.
Nonetheless, the Ukrainian army’s morning abstract made just one point out of Soledar, itemizing the city as one in every of a number of being shelled within the Donetsk area.
Russian forces have lately targeted their efforts on the seize of Soledar as a part of their ambitions to take the close by strategic metropolis of Bakhmut and Ukraine’s bigger jap Donbas area, with fierce battles centred on the town in sub-zero temperatures over the previous 5 days.
Prigozhin had claimed late on Tuesday to have taken the whole city, encircling Ukrainian forces in a “cauldron” within the metropolis centre.
“Wagner items took management of the whole territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been shaped within the centre of the town through which city combating is happening. The variety of prisoners can be introduced tomorrow,” he added, giving no additional particulars.
Whereas western army analysts have geolocated Wagner items within the metropolis centre, the place heavy combating has been on going for the primary administrative constructing, Russian claims to have taken the south-west of the town, the place Ukraine had lately been mounting a defence near the saltmines appeared extra questionable.
The British Ministry of Defence mentioned earlier that Russian troops and Wagner fighters had in all probability taken management of most of Soledar after 4 days of advances.
However Prigozhin’s remark that combating continued in Soledar’s centre instructed Russian management was incomplete, regardless of his assertion that all the city was in Wagner’s grasp.
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and the army command didn’t point out management of Soledar on Tuesday night. He repeated his name for extra western weapons, saying Russia was gathering its forces to accentuate its marketing campaign, however didn’t present particulars.
Ukraine’s defence ministry tweeted late on Tuesday: “Even after struggling colossal losses, Russia remains to be maniacally making an attempt to grab Soledar – dwelling to the most important saltmine in Europe.”
Ukraine mentioned earlier its forces had been nonetheless holding on to positions in Soledar, withstanding assaults by wave after wave of Russian forces looking for their first battlefield victory for months.
Some outstanding Russian army bloggers have urged warning concerning the scenario in Soledar and mentioned that intense fight within the city’s centre and its outskirts continued through the evening.
The Institute for the Examine of Conflict was additionally cautious over the Russian claims, suggesting earlier bulletins that the city had been captured, and noting that its fall would possibly show of restricted worth within the battle for Bakhmut.
“Even taking essentially the most beneficiant Russian claims at face worth,” the thinktank mentioned in an replace on Tuesday night, “the seize of Soledar wouldn’t portend a right away encirclement of Bakhmut. Management of Soledar won’t essentially permit Russian forces to exert management over vital Ukrainian floor strains of communication into Bakhmut.”
Seizing Soledar would, nevertheless, be Russia’s most substantial achieve since August, after a collection of humiliating retreats all through a lot of the second half of 2022. Russian forces have been combating for months to seize Bakhmut.
However any victory would come at an enormous price, with troops from each side having taken heavy losses in a number of the most intense fight since Russia invaded Ukraine almost 11 months in the past.
The Kyiv authorities has launched photos in current days exhibiting what it says are the scores of Russian troopers strewn useless in muddy fields.
Reuters contributed to this report
