“According to the latest information, the center of Soledar is under the control of the Wagner division, and here the guys have gained ground on one side and the other. They are already effectively moving forward,” Pushilin told Channel One.
Pushilin noted Ukrainian troops are suffering serious losses but have continued to resist.
The Wagner Group private military company (PMC), participating in Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, has taken the entire territory of Soledar under control, with hostilities taking place in the center of the city, the company’s head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday.
A senior US Defense Department official revealed on Monday that his country assessed that a good chunk of the city of Soledar was under the control of the Russian armed forces.
“We do think that there is a good portion of Soledar that the Russians have in their hands and the Ukrainians do as well. And these [artillery] exchanges are savage,” the official told a press briefing.
Soledar and Bakhmut, also known as Artyomovsk, are located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR, which joined Russia last fall after the populace there held a referendum. Bakhmut has been an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian troops in Donbas amid Russia’s special military operation.
The latest comes after Donetsk officials stated on Monday that Russian forces had managed to successfully take control of the Bakhmutskoe village, which sits near Soledar. The area is known as an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in Donbass.
Source: Sputnik
