Success would be important for Russia
Video is said to show Wagner fighters in the center of Soledar
01/10/2023 9:42 p.m
Will the Ukrainian defenses hold in Soledar, or can the Russian attackers advance further? The situation is still dynamic and a trend is unclear. A video on social media is said to show two fighters from the Wagner group in the center of the city. The bloody fights are said to continue.
According to information from Kyiv, Russian troops have continued their assault on the city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine – a video suggests that they were able to penetrate into the city center.
The regular Russian troops are supported in their attack by various mercenary troops, including the notorious Wagner group. This published video images on Telegram that allegedly come from the center of Soledar. The less meaningful recording, which shows two hooded soldiers in front of a damaged administration building, could not be independently confirmed.
Later, the Moscow-appointed governor in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, claimed that Russian troops controlled the center of Soledar. This too could not initially be verified independently.
Heaps of corpses of Russian soldiers
“Heavy fighting to defend Soledar continues,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar told Telegram. “Regardless of their casualties, the enemy continues to attack.” The area in front of the Ukrainian defense lines was “littered with the bodies of the attackers”.
Around ten and a half months after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the fighting in Donetsk is currently particularly fierce. The cities of Soledar and Bakhmut are of strategic importance: they are part of the Ukrainian defensive wall in front of the conurbation between Slovjansk and Kramatorsk. From the Russian point of view, taking the territory would be a significant step towards conquering the entire Donbass – one of the Kremlin’s war aims.