Fierce fighting is taking place on the outskirts of Soledar, a city in eastern Ukraine near Bakhmut, the hottest spot on the front line, the head of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner said on Tuesday, AFP reported.
“Let’s be honest (…) The Ukrainian army is bravely fighting for Bakhmut and Soledar. Very tough and bloody battles are being fought in the western outskirts of the city of Soledar,” said Yevgeny Prigozhin, quoted by his press service in Telegram.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine proudly defend the territory of Soledar. Claims about a mass exodus from its ranks are untrue,” he added.
The town of Soledar, located about 10 kilometers northeast of Bakhmut, borders the village of Bakhmut, which the Russians say they captured the other day. The leader of the separatists in the Donetsk region, Denys Pusilin, said on Russian television on Tuesday that Soledar is “very close to being released.”
Wagner’s troops play a leading role in the battle for Bakhmut, a town of dubious strategic importance but which has taken on strong symbolic significance as the two camps have fought for control for months.
On Monday, Yevhen Prigozhin said that the attack on Soledar was carried out “exclusively” by members of his company.
Russian forces may now control most of Soledar, but nearby Bakhmut will not be captured anytime soon, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an assessment on Tuesday morning.
“For the past four days, Russian army forces and a company of Wagner mercenaries have made a tactical advance in the area of the small town of Soledar in Donbas and are likely to control most of the settlement. Soledar is 10 km north of Bakhmut, the capture of which is likely to continue to be Russia’s main immediate operational objective. It is likely that Russia’s actions on the Soledar axis are an attempt to capture Bakhmut from the north and cut Ukrainian lines of communication,” the quoted source said.
On Monday evening, Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that his troops were facing “new and even more brutal attacks” in Soledar. “Thanks to the resistance of our military there, in Soledar, we got additional time and (saved) strength for Ukraine,” he added.
Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar reported that “currently, the enemy has deployed a large number of airborne assault units from the best reserves of the “Wagner” PMC. They literally walk over the corpses of their own soldiers.”
Source: Hot News
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