Kyiv. After heavy fighting, it is likely that Russia gained control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. A Ukrainian military spokesman on Friday immediately denied the capture announced by the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, but videos and photos showing the presence of Russian troops in the center of Soledar were already circulating on several Telegram channels.
For weeks now, Wagner’s notorious group of mercenaries has been attacking Ukrainian positions in the small town known for its salt mines, suffering a high blood count, before advancing from the south towards Bakhmut. In this way, the Russians hope to be able to encircle the city, which had a population of 100,000 before the war.
A capture of Bakhmut would be mostly symbolic. After the successful Ukrainian counteroffensives in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions, the area around Bakhmut is the only area where the Russians are still on the offensive. Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozchin, would claim rare military success for himself. For weeks, the 61-year-old, who became known as Putin’s chef and owner of numerous troll factories, emphasized the role of his mercenaries in the fight and of Bakhmut and Soledar, who would succeed without the support of regular Russian troops. .
Zelenskyy: “The fight will continue
Prigozhin’s army has long acted as its own power structure in Russia, but military successes have also added political weight to Wagner’s boss. Many observers, therefore, see the appointment of Chief of General Staff Valeri Gerasimov as the new supreme commander in Ukraine announced on Wednesday as an attempt to tighten Prigozhin’s borders.
However, the leadership in Kyiv does not want to give up on Bachmut just yet. Outside Soledar, Ukrainian soldiers have dug trenches in the winter forests, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also announced that he wants to send reinforcements to the city of Donbass. “We are doing everything we can to strengthen Ukraine’s defenses,” Zelensky said, stressing that Ukrainian troops will continue to fight Russian troops there. (LOL)