The city of Soledar near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region is still under the control of Ukraine, despite strong Russian attacks, Serhii Tserevatiy, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of Ukrainian Forces, said on January 7, Ukrainian Pravda and Kyiv Independent reported.

Russian propagandists recently reported that the Kremlin-controlled Wagner mercenary group has entered Soledar and is fighting Ukrainian forces in the city. The founder of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that the group was going to conquer the city.

“Fierce and bloody battles are going on there,” Cherevaty said.

Since midnight on January 7, Russian forces have bombed Soledar 76 times, and since then Ukrainian armed forces have engaged in ten clashes with Russian forces in the city, Cherevaty said.

“Our armed forces and command are doing everything to inflict maximum damage on the enemy in terms of personnel and equipment,” Cherevaty said.

Ukrainian commanders said Russia had recently moved armored vehicles and artillery toward Soledar, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Soledar is located approximately 20 kilometers from Bakhmut.

The fighting for Bakhmut has been going on for more than five months, while Russian troops are trying to capture it.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces suffered heavy losses, but Bakhmut remained the main Ukrainian stronghold in the Donetsk region.

Bakhmut is an important transportation hub as well as rich in resources, making it a valuable asset for Russia.

In the United States of America, it is believed that Yevgeny Prigozhin, an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the founder of the most powerful mercenary group, the Wagner Group, is interested in taking control of the salt and gypsum mines near the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Capturing the city would also be important to Russia’s goal of occupying the entire Donetsk region.

The Russian “truce” is taking its toll

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Saturday that its forces in Ukraine would maintain a ceasefire unilaterally declared in honor of Orthodox Christmas until midnight, despite Ukraine rejecting Vladimir Putin’s offer, Reuters reported. Instead, several Ukrainian governors said that the Russians had continued to attack civilians in several regions over the past day.

At least two people were killed and 13 injured on December 6 when Russian occupation forces shelled the city of Bakhmut during a ceasefire proposed by Russia, the regional prosecutor’s office said.

According to the prosecutor, a 66-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman died as a result of heavy shelling. Thirteen more people were injured as a result of the explosions.

As the Kyiv Independent reports, in the last day in at least seven regions in the east and south of Ukraine, attacks on civilians were recorded, as a result of which at least three people were killed and 14 were injured.

Over the past day, Russian troops bombed the Kherson region 39 times, targeting residential buildings and the building of the fire department, Governor Yaroslav Yanushevich reported on January 7.

According to Yanushevich, on January 6, one firefighter was killed and seven civilians were injured in the liberated territories of the Kherson region.

The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, Josep Borrell, called Vladimir Putin’s announcement of a 36-hour ceasefire on Orthodox Christmas “unbelievable”, adding that the Russian president’s order appeared to be an attempt by Moscow to “buy time to regroup its forces”. military”.

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Russian Christmas “truce”. At least two people were killed and 13 injured during the shelling by Russia of the city of Bakhmut / There are also victims in Kherson