(Kramatorsk) Fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces is still ongoing in Soledar according to the Russian army, as the mercenary group Wagner claimed control of this small town in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, a claim quickly disputed by Kyiv.
Soledar, once known for its salt mines, is located near the larger city of Bakhmout which the Ukrainians have been defending fiercely for several months against waves of assaults from Russian forces.
The strategic importance of Soledar is disputed, but its capture would allow Moscow to finally brandish a military victory, after several humiliating setbacks since last September, and for the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to reinforce his growing influence on the Russian political scene. .
“Assault forces are fighting in the city,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, adding that “airborne units blocked the northern and southern parts” of the city.
“Russian aerospace forces strike enemy strongholds,” he added.
Kyiv denies
Earlier, the Kremlin had been cautious about the situation on the ground.
“You don’t have to rush. Let’s wait for official statements,” spokesman for the Russian presidency, Dmitry Peskov, told the press, while considering that there was “a positive dynamic in the advances” of the Russian forces.
The statements of the Russian army, however, contradict the words of the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Mr. Prigozhin, who said early Wednesday that his units “exclusively” had “taken control of the entire territory of Soledar”.
However, he noted that “urban battles” continued in pockets of resistance in the city center, making the extent of the Russian group’s control over this small town of just over 10,000 pre-war inhabitants uncertain.
The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti had released a photograph of Mr Prigojine with armed fighters, claiming it had been taken in the Soledar salt mines.
The Ukrainian army quickly denied these claims, saying that Soledar “was, is and always will be Ukrainian” and that it is “not true” that Mr. Prigozhin is inside the salt mines of Soledar.
AFP was unable to independently verify the situation on the ground.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had, on Tuesday evening, reported a “difficult situation” in the Donetsk region, where Soledar is located.
Russian-Ukrainian meeting in Turkey
On the diplomatic front, a rare meeting between Russian and Ukrainian officials was held Tuesday in Turkey between the two countries’ human rights officers, Dmytro Loubinets and Tatiana Moskalkova.
The two representatives “discussed a wide range of humanitarian issues and cases related to the provision of human rights assistance to citizens of both countries,” Loubinets said on his social media.
“Humanitarian aid to Ukrainian and Russian citizens” was well mentioned, said Mr.me Moskalkova.
On the battlefield, Russian bombardments hit Kharkiv on Tuesday evening, hours after the surprise visit to this city in northeastern Ukraine by the head of German diplomacy, Annalena Baerbock.
“A pyrotechnic warehouse was hit. A large-scale fire broke out, pyrotechnic products exploded during the night,” regional governor Oleg Synegoubov said on Telegram, adding, however, that “there were no casualties.”
Invited by her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba, who accompanied her, Mme Baerbock said it had provided “a new package” of aid comprising 20 million euros for demining and as much to develop the Starlink internet access network. She also announced new deliveries of generators for Ukrainian energy infrastructure, systematically bombed by Russia.
For his part, Mr Kouleba once again urged Germany to provide Ukraine with heavy armor. “The longer such a decision is delayed, the more casualties there will be, the more civilian deaths there will be,” he said.
Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Tuesday evening that he had revoked the Ukrainian citizenship of wealthy businessman Viktor Medvedchuk, a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused by Kyiv of high treason in favor of Russia.
The 68-year-old former MP, born in Siberia and considered Mr Putin’s man in Ukraine, was delivered to Russia in a prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow at the end of September 2022, after being imprisoned for more than five months in Ukraine.