Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on the night of January 11 that Soledar was under Russian control.
“PMC Wagner’s divisions have taken control of the entire Soledar area. A cauldron was created in the center of the city, where city battles were fought. The number of prisoners will be announced tomorrow. I would like to emphasize once again that no unit except the Wagner PMC fighters took part in the attack on Soledar.
said Prigogine.
The businessman’s press service noted that the number of Ukrainian detainees will be announced on January 11.
The transition of the city to Russian control was confirmed by Denis Pushilin, acting head of the DPR. According to him, Russian troops seized the initiative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass.
“Soledar’s headquarters is under the control of the Wagner division, and here the men are stationed on one side and the other. They are already effectively advancing, ”RIA Novosti quotes Pushilin.
He also noted that the Russian army was “advancing effectively” and that the Ukrainian army had suffered serious losses. According to Pushilin, the motivation of Russian military personnel is much higher and this allows them to achieve results.
Earlier, Pushilin said, “After Soledar, Artemovsk is liberated, as well as Seversk, where there are very serious fortifications.” According to him, from now on, the efforts of the Russian troops will be directed towards Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
On January 11, Solovyov said on Live that the capture of Soledar “is a turning point, the moment we are waiting for now – preparations are underway for the liberation of the Donetsk People’s Republic.” According to him, the front line of the enemy will be destroyed after the liberation of Soledar, Artemovsk and Seversk.
He also noted that Maryinka almost came under the control of Russian troops, but the enemy consolidated itself in the residential sector in the suburbs. As Pushilin explains, “this affects the timing of the release of this deal.”
military flight
Prior to the news that Russian troops were advancing in Soledar, Aleksey Arestovich, chief adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced that Ukrainian troops had left the city.
“There are units running near Soledar, they ran and ran … When a company runs away from the direction, as a rule, its neighbors get very upset, and the enemy rushes there,” Mark Feigin wrote on his YouTube channel. (Recognized as a foreign agent in the Russian Federation).
According to him, the Russian army occupied only the eastern outskirts of the city and took the Bakhmut-Soledar highway under fire control. “This means they can shoot at our walking cars. This complicates the supply of the city,” Arestovich stressed.
According to an adviser from Zelensky’s office, even if the Ukrainian command decides to withdraw troops from Soledar, this will not affect the course of hostilities.
“Fighting Bravely”
On the morning of January 10, Prigozhin said that the reports of the mass desertion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from Soledar were false.
“The Ukrainian army is fighting bravely for Bakhmut and Soledar <…> The Armed Forces of Ukraine honorably defend the Soledar lands. Therefore, the information about their mass desertion is not correct, ”the press service of Prigozhin was quoted.
On January 9, Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar said that the Russian Armed Forces launched an attack on Soledar in the DPR. According to him, the Russian Armed Forces regrouped after the first unsuccessful attempt to take the city and made new attempts to take the city. Military PMCs noted that Wagner, as well as artillery, multiple launch rocket systems and mortars participated in the battles on the Russian side.