Ukrainian military and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy say claims by the Russian Vagner group that Russian forces have seized the eastern town of Soledar are false and that fighting continues.
“The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend that part of our city of Soledar… is some kind of Russian possession,” Zelenskiy said in a video address on January 11.
“But the fighting continues. The Donetsk theater of operations remains.”
In a separate statement, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine also said that the fighting continues. The statement said that in order to bring the entire Donetsk region under its control, the Russian army is attempting to attack nearby Bakhmut and disrupt supply routes to Soledar.
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The General Staff earlier said the Russians were suffering heavy losses as they tried to take the salt mining town.
The head of the Vagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on January 11 that his forces had taken control of Soledar.
“I want to confirm the complete liberation and cleansing of the Soledar territory from Ukrainian army units…Ukrainian units that did not want to surrender were destroyed,” he said in a statement.
Vagner’s forces “killed about 500 people,” he said, adding that Soledar is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukraine had earlier denied claims by the Russian private military group that it had seized control of the city.
“The city is not under the control of the Russian Federation. Now there are fierce battles,” Serhiy Cherevatiy, the spokesman for the eastern military command, said on Ukrainian television.
“There is a complicated situation there… The intensity of the battles near Bakhmut can be compared to the Second World War,” he added.
Regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said 559 civilians, including 15 children, remain in Soledar. These people had no desire to leave before Soledar was closed due to active fighting, he said on Ukrainian television.
Less than 8,000 people stay in bakhmutbut evacuation is still possible, he said.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on January 11 cited “colossal losses” for Russian forces trying to capture Soledar in a sustained offensive that the ministry described as “maniacal” as the fate of the community hangs in the balance.
The Russian Defense Ministry indicated that paratroopers had blockaded areas north and south of Soledar, but added that fighting was continuing inside the city.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was a “positive dynamic in the advances” but was quick to add that officials should not “rush” into declaring victory.
The General Staff of Ukraine reclaimed on January 11 that Russia had lost around 490 soldiers the day before. He said those casualties brought his estimated death toll on the Russian side to nearly 113,000 soldiers.
Each side in the conflict has classified their casualty figures, and RFE/RL cannot corroborate either side’s accounts of battlefield developments in the areas of greatest fighting.
The capture of Soledar and its salt mines would have symbolic, military and commercial value for Russia and would be Moscow’s most substantial gain in months.
The Salt of the Earth: Deep in the Massive Soledar Mines of Eastern Ukraine
Russian forces in Ukraine are trying to capture the eastern salt mining town of Soledar in a sustained offensive that the Kyiv Defense Ministry has described as “maniacal”. In 2019, RFE/RL’s Amos Chapple visited Soledar as the salt mining operation hoped to conquer Western markets.
As the battle for Soledar raged, Russia announced on January 11 that it had once again replaced the commander of its forces in Ukraine.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was appointed to oversee the invasion in a remodeling announced by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Gerasimov Rreplaces Sergei Surovikinwho will become one of Gerasimov’s three deputies, the ministry said.
The General Staff of Ukraine saying early on January 11 that his troops had repulsed Russian attacks in three eastern regions.
He also reminded Ukrainians across the country to be on the lookout for possible long-distance airstrikes, though the pace of Russian shelling of civilian targets and infrastructure has slowed since the massive bombing raids in late December and early January.
