The Wagner mercenary group says it has captured the city of Soledar.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner military contractor group, claimed that this group has taken control of the city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine. In the bone-chilling cold of eastern Ukraine, the battle for control of this city with its mineral reserves continues.
Russian news agencies say the center of Soledar is surrounded and urban warfare is ongoing there. The head of the Wagner military contractor group has claimed that by the end of Wednesday, January 11th, he will announce the number of prisoners.
Kyiv had earlier stated that its forces are resisting. Russian military commanders have made the capture of the strategic city of Bakhmut and control over the Donbas region conditional on the capture of Soledar.
Capturing this city, in addition to being a strategic success for the Russian military, also holds symbolic and economic importance. The largest salt mines in Europe are located around this city.