Soledar

Russia's defence ministry and the mercenary Wagner Group give competing versions of events in Soledar.

Another said "When Soledar and [Bakhmut] are liberated, it will be a new chapter in Russian military history. Ukrainian and US officials have said that Wagner units make up a large part of forces fighting in the area. In a statement released on Tuesday night, he boasted that "no other units took part in the storming of Soledar apart from Wagner".

Town would give Russian troops a springboard to conquer other areas of Donetsk province.

and Russian forces have largely struggled to make significant tactical gains in the Soledar area for months,” the Washington-based think tank said. The Kremlin used Belarus as a staging ground to send troops and missiles into Ukraine when Russia invaded February 24. Russian troops have struggled to gain control over Donetsk, Luhansk and two other Ukrainian provinces the Kremlin illegally annexed in September. “This is our humanitarian duty, our duty of conscience.” - AP Putin identified the Donbas region as a focus from the war’s outset, and Moscow-backed separatists have fought there since 2014. It would also offer Russian troops a springboard to conquer other areas of Donetsk province that remain under Ukrainian control, such as the nearby The UK has been considering whether to provide Challenger 2 battle tanks. The two warring parties have exchanged prisoners multiple times, in one of the few areas of cooperation. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country has proposed establishing a corridor to bring the wounded to Turkey for treatment. The chief of the military’s General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, was named to replace Generla Sergei Surovikin, who was demoted to deputy, along with two other generals. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. His demotion signalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn’t fully satisfied with his performance.

Fighting is still raging in Soledar, a salt mine town in eastern Ukraine, despite Russian claims that it has gained control of the region.

In the rear they have the main fortification in the Donbas – the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk fortification. Late Tuesday, Prigozhin said “Wagner PMC detachments have taken control of the entire territory of Soledar. The town of Soledar in Donetsk has therefore been a target for Russian forces since last May. The area around Soledar includes large salt mines, which belong to state enterprise Artemsil, the biggest producer of salt in Europe, which halted production shortly after Russia’s invasion last February. But Soledar is of outsize significance to one man: Prigozhin. The fighting for the town is not over yet, the western outskirts and suburbs will have to be assaulted.” After months in which the Russian Ministry of Defense has delivered nothing but retreat, Prigozhin is keen to show that his men deliver. Prigozhin said late on Tuesday night that Wagner forces were in total control of the town. Indeed, Moscow regards it as Russian territory since claiming (illegally) that it had annexed all of Donetsk region – including the approximately 40% that lies outside Russian control. In a short call with CNN Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesman for Eastern Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said that “battles are ongoing there. With a pre-war population of about 10,000, it has little strategic value in itself, but is a waypoint in the Russians’ attritional slog westwards. But exploiting Soledar’s famed salt mines would require heavy investment and a more tranquil environment than at present.

Moscow said its forces had seized the town of Soledar in Donetsk region, a gateway to the city of Bakhmut, where bloody fighting has raged for months.

Among the issues discussed were the potential creation of humanitarian corridors, a proposal to treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers in Turkey, and future prisoner exchanges. Prigozhin was reported to be a booster of Surovikin and had praised his promotion to overall war commander in October. A Defense Ministry statement suggested that the reshuffle was linked to an “expansion” of the operation as well as to “improve the quality … First of all, the right to life.” “The area near Soledar is covered with corpses of the invaders. “Although tactical military successes are very important, they come at a rather high price: the price of incredible heroism of our fighters,” Peskov said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the battered and deserted city of Bakhmut last month and on Monday praised the “heroic” defenders of Soledar in his nightly address. “Wagner units have taken the whole territory of Soledar under control,” he said. Thousands of soldiers on each side have died fighting over Soledar and Bakhmut in recent months, even though military experts say neither place appears to be of tremendous strategic value. But even as Moscow boasted of a rare victory, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it was once again replacing the top commander of the war. Wait for details in the [upcoming] General Staff report,” Cherevaty told Ukrainian TV. The number of prisoners taken will be announced tomorrow.”

Fierce fighting is taking place in the salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, just three miles from the strategic city Bakhmut.

About two dozen of them, initially recruited by the Wagner mercenary group in circumvention of Russian law, have now returned home but will probably return to the front in a matter of weeks, according to Russia Behind Bars, a prisoner rights group. The convicts were apparently sent to some of the most dangerous hot spots on the front line, and many were killed, The Washington Post’s Mary Ilyushina reports. “After suffering losses, the enemy once again carried out replacement of its units, increased the number of Wagnerites, tried to break through the defense of our troops and fully capture the city, but was unsuccessful.”

Soledar in eastern Ukraine is the latest town to face an intense battle involving Russian forces.

In doing so, the mercenaries have often taken control of valuable mining resources. a vital trophy for President Vladimir Putin to present to critics back in Russia". "[Prigozhin will] continue to use both confirmed and fabricated Wagner Group success in Soledar and Bakhmut," says the Institute for the Study of War "to promote [it] as the only Russian force in Ukraine capable of securing tangible gains." The battle for Soledar and Bakhmut is only part of the front line and the broader campaign is not going well for Vladimir Putin. Taking control of the nearby city Bakhmut would certainly be a prize for Russian forces in the region. But Wagner fighters are not part of the regular Russian armed forces and the defence ministry in Moscow says the battle is still going on.

Ukrainian members of the military fire an anti-aircraft weapon, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in the frontline city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, Jan. 10, ...

“Ukraine will stop the Russian aggression on our land, we will make it together with the whole free world,” he said. It is important for global democracy, for all those who value freedom.” Ryder said the U.S. Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said late Tuesday a U.S. “And it is important not only for us. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a news briefing Wednesday that Ukraine’s defense in the Bakhmut area “shows once again the bravery of Ukrainian forces as they fight to defend their homeland,” and how vital it is to boost military support for Ukraine.

It would also offer Russian troops a springboard to conquer other areas of Donetsk province that remain under Ukrainian control, such as the nearby strategic ...

and Russian forces have largely struggled to make significant tactical gains in the Soledar area for months,” the Washington-based think tank said. The Kremlin used Belarus as a staging ground to send troops and missiles into Ukraine when Russia invaded February 24. Russian troops have struggled to gain control over Donetsk, Luhansk and two other Ukrainian provinces the Kremlin illegally annexed in September. “This is our humanitarian duty, our duty of conscience.” - Andrew Meldrum, AP Putin identified the Donbas region as a focus from the war’s outset, and Moscow-backed separatists have fought there since 2014. The two warring parties have exchanged prisoners multiple times, in one of the few areas of cooperation. The UK has been considering whether to provide Challenger 2 battle tanks. It would also offer Russian troops a springboard to conquer other areas of Donetsk province that remain under Ukrainian control, such as the nearby Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said his country has proposed establishing a corridor to bring the wounded to Turkey for treatment. The chief of the military’s General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, was named to replace Generla Sergei Surovikin, who was demoted to deputy, along with two other generals. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. His demotion signalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin wasn’t fully satisfied with his performance.

The city's fall would offer Russian forces a springboard to conquer other areas of the eastern Donetsk region.

and Russian forces have largely struggled to make significant tactical gains in the Soledar area for months,” the Washington-based think tank said. “Once again I want to confirm the complete liberation and cleansing of the territory of Soledar from units of the Ukrainian army,” Prigozhin wrote on his Russian social media platform. Putin identified the Donbas region as a focus from the war’s outset, and Moscow-backed separatists have fought there since 2014. When Russian forces withdrew from Kherson, the battle heated up around Bakhmut. It would also offer Russian troops a springboard to conquer other areas of Donetsk province that remain under Ukrainian control, such as the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut. “The Donetsk direction is holding out. [large contingent of convicts](https://www.stuff.co.nz/world/europe/300773371/russia-doubles-its-forces-in-ukraine-with-conscripts-and-prisoners) recruited in Russian prisons and constitutes up to a quarter of all Russian combatants in Ukraine, has spearheaded the attack on Soledar and Bakhmut. The Institute for the Study of War said Russian forces were up against “concerted Ukrainian resistance” around Bakhmut. Zelenskyy dismissed claims of Russian victory in the city as the work of “propagandists”. “The fighting continues,” Zelenksyy said. Ukraine’s military, in turn, said late on Wednesday that Russian forces had suffered “huge losses” in the fighting for control of Soledar. The fate of the devastated salt-mining city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine hangs in the balance as Russian forces use jets, mortars and rockets to capture the strategic area.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the battle for Soledar in eastern Ukraine is a “very fluid,” “dynamic fight,” amid reports that the city had ...

Russia’s ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said late Tuesday a U.S. Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder said the U.S. A Reuters photographer who recently reached the edge of Soledar said she could see smoke rising over the town, and the incoming artillery fire was relentless, Reuters reported. In a statement on Facebook, the Ukrainian general staff said Russian forces were suffering heavy losses. is some sort of a Russian possession," he said in a video address. The Russians "are trying to pretend that part of our town of Soledar ...

Russian troops have stepped up an assault on the small salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks ...

[Colonel-General Alexander Lapin](/world/europe/russia-appoints-new-ground-forces-chief-staff-despite-hawks-criticism-2023-01-10/) as chief of staff of the country's ground forces, state-owned news agency TASS reported, despite criticism from hawks over his performance in Ukraine. The spokesperson said that Britain would continue to co-ordinate its support with allies after Germany, France and the United States all indicated last week they would provide [armoured vehicles](/world/europe/what-is-bradley-fighting-vehicle-2023-01-06/). Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to seize territory. 24, citing threats to its own security and a need to protect Russian speakers. Gaining control of Bakhmut could give Russia a platform to advance on two bigger cities - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. "So many remain on the battlefield ...

The reshuffle comes as Russian forces say they are making progress in eastern Ukraine after months of setbacks. Gen Gerasimov, who has been in post since 2012, ...

He also oversaw Russia's withdrawal from the city of Kherson - a major success for the Ukrainians. In a short statement on Telegram, he boasted that his mercenaries had killed around 500 pro-Ukraine troops. "The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers," he wrote. "The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend" to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Mr Zelensky said in his nightly address on Wednesday, "but the fighting continues". Russia's defence ministry said the decision to replace Gen Surovikin was aimed at organising "closer contact between different branches of the armed forces and improving the quality and effectiveness of the management of Russian forces". Gen Gerasimov, who has been in post since 2012, is the longest-serving Russian chief of general staff of the post-Soviet era.

Gen. Valery Gerasimov's appointment as commander of Russia's war effort in Ukraine sidelines Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who was named to lead Russian forces there ...

Valery Gerasimov’s appointment as commander of Russia’s war effort in Ukraine sidelines Gen. Gen. Russia claimed its first significant success in Ukraine since July, seizing most of

The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner on Wednesday said his forces had achieved the complete "liberation" of the eastern Ukrainian mining town ...

Wagner forces "killed about 500 people. Ukrainian units that did not want to surrender were destroyed," he said in a statement. Register for free to Reuters and know the full story

Rundunar sojojin haya ta ƙasar Rasha wato Wagner Group ta yi iƙirarin ƙwace iko da garin Soledar da ke gabashin Ukraine - sai dai Ukraine ta ce sojojinta ...

Na farko shi ne dakarun Rasha sun ƙara matsawa kusa da birnin Bakhmut. "Wannan shi ne abin da hauka ke nufi," in ji shi. An yi wa birnin ƙawanya ta ciki inda ake ci gaba da yaƙi a cikin garin."

KYIV, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in intense fighting on Wednesday over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine - a stepping ...

official said last week](/world/europe/us-thinks-putin-ally-prigozhin-wants-control-salt-gypsum-mines-near-bakhmut-2023-01-05/) that Prigozhin was interested in taking control of salt and gypsum from mines near Bakhmut. A hot air balloon was once flown inside one of the mines to demonstrate their depth. It is located in Ukraine's Donetsk region, which Moscow unilaterally claimed to have annexed in September despite only occupying part of the area.

The change effectively demoted General Sergei Surovikin, appointed only in October to lead the invasion - Click the link for more details.

[insisted the front was "holding." Surovikin was appointed only in October to lead the invasion and oversaw heavy attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers."

The city of Soledar in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region has seen days of heavy fighting as Ukraine strives to repel Russian forces from around Bakhmut.