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

“The terrorist state and its propagandists try to fake that a part of our city of Soledar…is a few form of a Russian possession,” Zelenskiy stated in a video deal with on January 11.

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

In a separate assertion, the Basic Workers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces additionally stated preventing continues. The assertion stated to be able to convey your entire Donetsk area beneath its management, the Russian army is making an attempt each to assault close by Bakhmut and to disrupt provide routes to Soledar.

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The Basic Workers stated earlier the Russians have been struggling heavy losses as they tried to take the salt-mining city.

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

“I need to verify the whole liberation and cleaning of the territory of Soledar from items of the Ukrainian Military…. Ukrainian items that didn’t need to give up have been destroyed,” he stated in an announcement.

Vagner forces “killed about 500 individuals,” he stated, including that Soledar is suffering from the corpses of Ukrainian troopers.

Ukraine had earlier denied claims by the personal Russian army group that it had taken management of the city.

“The city is just not beneath the management of the Russian Federation. There are fierce battles happening now,” Serhiy Cherevatiy, the spokesman for the japanese army command, stated on Ukrainian tv.

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

Regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko stated 559 civilians, together with 15 youngsters, stay in Soledar. These individuals had no want to depart earlier than Soledar was closed resulting from energetic preventing, he stated on Ukrainian tv.

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

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 neighborhood’s destiny hangs within the steadiness.

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 stated there was a “optimistic dynamic in advances,” however rapidly added that officers should not “rush” to declare victory.

The Ukrainian Basic Workers claimed on January 11 that Russia had misplaced round 490 troopers the day before today. It stated these casualties raised its estimated dying toll on the Russian facet to almost 113,000 troops.

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

Capturing Soledar and its salt mines would have symbolic, army, and industrial worth for Russia and could be Moscow’s most substantial achieve in months.

Russian forces in Ukraine try to seize the japanese 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 Basic Workers 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 stated.

The Ukrainian Basic Workers stated early on January 11 that its troops had fought off Russian assaults in three japanese areas.

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

With reporting by Reuters