The Ukrainian navy and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy say claims by Russia’s Vagner group that Russian forces have taken the jap city of Soledar are false and preventing continues.

“The terrorist state and its propagandists are attempting to fake that a part of our city of Soledar…is a few kind of a Russian possession,” Zelenskiy mentioned in a video handle on January 11.

“However preventing continues. The Donetsk theatre of operations is holding.”

In a separate assertion, the Normal Employees of the Ukrainian Armed Forces additionally mentioned preventing continues. The assertion mentioned with a view to carry all the Donetsk area underneath its management, the Russian navy is trying each to assault close by Bakhmut and to disrupt provide routes to Soledar.

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The Normal Employees mentioned earlier the Russians have been struggling heavy losses as they tried to take the salt-mining city.

The pinnacle of the mercenary Vagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, mentioned on January 11 his forces had taken management of the Soledar.

“I wish to affirm the entire liberation and cleaning of the territory of Soledar from models of the Ukrainian Military…. Ukrainian models that didn’t wish to give up have been destroyed,” he mentioned in a press release.

Vagner forces “killed about 500 individuals,” he mentioned, including that Soledar is plagued by the corpses of Ukrainian troopers.

Ukraine had earlier denied claims by the non-public Russian navy group that it had taken management of the city.

“The city will not be underneath the management of the Russian Federation. There are fierce battles occurring now,” Serhiy Cherevatiy, the spokesman for the jap navy command, mentioned on Ukrainian tv.

“There’s a difficult scenario there…. The depth of battles close to Bakhmut could be in contrast with World Warfare II,” he added.

Regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko mentioned 559 civilians, together with 15 kids, stay in Soledar. These individuals had no need to go away earlier than Soledar was closed attributable to lively preventing, he mentioned on Ukrainian tv.

Fewer than 8,000 individuals stay in Bakhmut, however evacuation continues to be attainable, he mentioned.

Ukraine’s Protection Ministry earlier on January 11 cited “colossal losses” by Russian forces attempting to seize Soledar in a sustained offensive that the ministry described as “maniacal” because the group’s destiny hangs within the stability.

The Russian Protection Ministry famous that paratroopers had blockaded areas north and south of Soledar, however added that preventing was ongoing contained in the city.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned there was a “optimistic dynamic in advances,” however rapidly added that officers should not “rush” to declare victory.

The Ukrainian Normal Employees claimed on January 11 that Russia had misplaced round 490 troopers the day prior to this. It mentioned these casualties raised its estimated dying toll on the Russian aspect to almost 113,000 troops.

All sides within the battle has categorised its casualty figures, and RFE/RL can not corroborate accounts by both aspect of battlefield developments within the areas of the heaviest preventing.

Capturing Soledar and its salt mines would have symbolic, navy, and industrial worth for Russia and can be Moscow’s most substantial acquire in months.

Russian forces in Ukraine are attempting to seize the jap salt-mining city of Soledar in a sustained offensive that Kyiv’s Protection Ministry has described as “maniacal.” In 2019, RFE/RL’s Amos Chapple visited Soledar because the salt-mining operation hoped to crack Western markets.

Because the battle for Soledar raged, Russia introduced on January 11 that it has once more changed the commander of its forces in Ukraine.

Chief of the Normal Employees Valery Gerasimov was appointed to supervise the invasion in a reshuffle introduced by Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Gerasimov replaces Sergei Surovikin, who will grow to be one Gerasimov’s three deputies, the ministry mentioned.

The Ukrainian Normal Employees mentioned early on January 11 that its troops had fought off Russian assaults in three jap areas.

It additionally reminded Ukrainians throughout the nation to be alert for attainable long-distance air strikes, though the tempo of such Russian bombing of civilian and infrastructure targets has eased for the reason that huge bombardments on the finish of December and early January.

With reporting by Reuters