james 
Soledar: Russia claims victory in battle for Ukraine salt mine town
Russia’s army says it has captured the Ukrainian salt-mine metropolis of Soledar after an extended war, calling it an “important” step for its offensive.
The victory might permit Russian troops to push directly to the close by metropolis of Bakhmut, and reduce off the Ukrainian forces there, a spokesman stated. This turned into a completely assured and formidable announcement from Moscow.
But Ukrainian officers stated the combat for Soledar turned into nonetheless happening and accused Russia of “records noise”. The war for Soledar has been one of the bloodiest of the battle.
The metropolis is enormously small, with a pre-battle populace of simply 10,000, and its strategic importance is debatable. But if it’s miles showed that Russian forces have seized manipulate of it, then there’ll possibly be a large sigh of comfort withinside the Kremlin.
Divisions have emerged among everyday Russian forces and the infamous Russian Wagner paramilitary organization at some stage in the war, with a jealous turf-battle growing over who have to take credit score for the improve.
Barely any partitions in Soledar continue to be standing, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky stated this week. Describing nearly apocalyptic scenes, he observed the close by terrain as scarred via way of means of missile moves and affected by Russian corpses.
Speaking in the course of his nightly cope with from Kyiv on Friday, Mr Zelensky stated the war withinside the area persisted to rage, however prevented any connection with Russia’s claims of manipulate over Soledar.
“Although the enemy has focused its finest forces on this direction, our troops – the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defence and safety forces – are protecting the state,” the Ukrainian chief stated.
His leader of staff, Andriy Yermak, in comparison the combat for Soledar and Bakhmut to one of the bitterest battles of World War One, at Verdun.
Regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko stated on Thursday that 559 civilians together with 15 kids remained in Soledar and couldn’t be moved out.
The metropolis’s importance for the Russian army is disputed via way of means of army analysts due to its enormously small size. The US-primarily based totally suppose tank Institute for the Study of War stated even as it turned into possibly that Russian forces had captured Soledar, it did now no longer agree with they might then be capable of cross directly to encircle Bakhmut.
Nevertheless, if it will become clean that Russia has taken it, then to be able to be visible in Moscow as progress – even a victory.
That is precisely what President Vladimir Putin wishes as Russia has didn’t seize a unmarried metropolis in Ukraine due to the fact that July 2022. Since then, Moscow’s forces have suffered an entire collection of embarrassing defeats.
Ukraine’s a hit counter-assault driven Russia nearly absolutely out of Kharkiv area withinside the north-east. In October, Russia’s Kerch bridge got here below assault, with Russian forces chickening out from the metropolis of Kherson the subsequent month.
The southern port metropolis have been the handiest nearby capital that Russia had controlled to capture for the reason that invasion began.
Capturing Soledar might be some thing for Moscow to give as a few “desirable news” to the Russian humans and the troops at the wintry the front line.
But Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s japanese army command, denied Soledar turned into in Russian hands: “We may not supply any greater information as we do now no longer need to show the tactical positions of our warring parties.”
Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Malyar, stated combating have been “warm in Soledar overnight”. Ukrainian warring parties were “bravely seeking to maintain the defence”, she added, in what turned into a tough level of the battle.
Western and Ukrainian officers have stated tons of the combating in Soledar and Bakhmut is being finished via way of means of the notoriously brutal Wagner mercenary organization.
Its chief, 61-year-vintage Yevgeny Prigozhin, has claimed time and again over the last few days that his forces are the handiest devices at the floor in Soledar. He stated on Tuesday night time that his mercenaries had seized the metropolis, handiest to be contradicted via way of means of Russia’s defence ministry the following morning.
Daily updates from the Russian defence ministry have made no point out in any way of Wagner, and Friday’s briefing turned into no exception. The army stated that paratroopers had performed a key element withinside the seize of the metropolis.
Mr Prigozhin then launched a announcement announcing he turned into “surprised” to study the defence ministry briefing. There “wasn’t a unmarried paratrooper” in Soledar, he insisted, caution against “insulting [his] warring parties” and “stealing others’ achievements”.
And on Friday evening, Mr Prigozhin accused “officers who need to live of their places” of being the largest chance to his organization’s improve in Ukraine.
In a later announcement, the defence ministry praised the mercenaries’ “brave and selfless actions” in the course of the combating, however once more emphasized the main function of everyday Russian forces.
Analysts have lengthy spoken of tensions among the army and Mr Prigozhin’s Wagner organization. The Russian oligarch has publicly criticised senior army leaders, together with Gen Valery Gerasimov, appointed days in the past as common commander of Russian forces in Ukraine.
While Russia has mobilised a few 300,000 reservists for the battle for the reason that quit of September, Prigozhin has seemed to recruit more numbers from Russia’s prisons.
Andriy Yermak informed French every day Le Monde that Russian criminals have been despatched instantly to their deaths at the the front line: “Soledar is a scene of road battles, with neither aspect definitely on top of things of the metropolis.”
