The city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, which is at the center of a fierce battle with Russian forces and which Moscow says it has captured, is still “under the control of Ukraine,” the governor of the Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on Saturday, France Presse quoted.

“Soledar is under the control of the Ukrainian authorities, our forces are in control,” he said.

This city and the neighboring city of Bakhmut currently remain the “hottest” points of the conflict, Kirylenko added on television.

Earlier, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported on Friday that Soledar’s “release” took place “in the evening of January 12.” The Russian military highly praised the “courageous actions” of the fighters of Wagner’s mercenary group, whose fighters led the “direct assault on the residential areas of Soledar”.

On Friday, various Ukrainian military units insisted that fighting for the eastern town of Soledar was continuing, rejecting capture claims made by the Russian Defense Ministry and the private military company Wagner.

In an address to Ukrainians on Friday night, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the fight for Soledar continues, even though Moscow has announced that it controls the city.

The Ukrainian leader noted the merits of the special forces unit, which was awarded “for decisive actions to destroy the enemy near Soledar.”