Soldiers fight “tenaciously”
Zelenskyi reinforces troops in Soledar and Bakhmut
01/12/2023 7:56 p.m
Both Kyiv and Moscow have denied the Wagner mercenary group’s claim that Soledar in the Donetsk region is under Russian control. According to President Zelensky, his soldiers are holding up well despite Russian attacks. Now he sends them help.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised Ukrainian soldiers further support and reinforcements in view of the “difficult” situation in the fiercely contested city of Soledar in the east of the country. The units in Soledar and the city of Bakhmut, which was also heavily contested, would be “supplied with ammunition and everything necessary,” emphasized the Ukrainian head of state. Russia, meanwhile, has denied reports of a new prisoner swap with Ukraine.
Ukrainian forces continued to fight to defend Soledar against the Russian army, according to Kiev. “Despite the difficult situation, the Ukrainian soldiers are fighting tenaciously,” said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar. Russia is sending “thousands of its citizens to the slaughterhouse, but we’re holding up well.” There are “heavy losses” on the Russian side, she said.
Soledar is located in the Donetsk region claimed by Moscow, near the city of Bakhmut, which has been heavily contested for months. “I would like to emphasize that the units defending these cities are supplied with ammunition and everything they need on time and without interruption,” Zelenskyy said on Facebook after a meeting with his general staff.
The claim by the Russian mercenary group Wagner that they had taken the city in the Donetsk region was rejected by both Moscow and Kyiv on Wednesday. The Defense Ministry in Moscow said the fighting continued. Ukraine, too, denied a complete conquest.
Moscow desperately needs victory
The Kremlin praised the “gigantic work” and “heroic deeds” at the front. “There is still a lot to be done,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. A map of eastern Ukraine released by the Russian Defense Ministry did not show Soledar as a Moscow-controlled area. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoljak on Wednesday described the fighting for Soledar and nearby Bakhmut as the “bloody” fighting since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
Meanwhile, in Bakhmut, despite the fighting, 40-year-old doctor Elena Molchanova tried to continue caring for thousands of civilians, many of whom were elderly, who remained in the city. “There aren’t enough syringes and insulin needles. Stocks of heart medication are running out very quickly,” she said. For her, however, it was unthinkable to leave Bachmut “as long as there are still people here”.
According to observers, Soledar itself is not of great strategic importance. Should Russian fighters take the small town of what was once 10,000 people, it would be a much-needed military victory for Moscow after months of setbacks. However, a conquest would allow a pincer attack on the much larger Bachmut. A fall of both cities would in turn open the way to the Slovjansk/Kramatorsk conurbation. These are the last two major cities in Donbass still under Ukrainian control.