Russia-Ukraine war: Ukraine says fighting continues in Soledar

Ukraine has shut down the claims made by the Russian Wagner mercenary group of having control over the city of Soledar. Kyiv refuted the claims, saying that fighting is still going on for control of the area.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refuted claims by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin over Soledar in a video address. Zelenskyy said fighting is still taking place for control of the area. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also told reporters on Wednesday that he could not corroborate the reports that Soledar was under Russian control.

“The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend that part of our town of Soledar…is some sort of a Russian possession,” said Zelenskyy. “But fighting continues.”

The Ukrainian military general staff said in a Facebook post that Russian forces in Soledar are suffering significant losses as they tried to seize the city and cut Ukrainian supply lines. During an overall report on the frontlines on Thursday, the Ukrainian military command mentioned tanks and artillery in the city but did not disclose other details.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in a Youtube video that around half of Soledar is under Ukrainian control. But in remarks on Ukrainian television, Zhdanov said that if Russia seized Soledar or Bakhmut, it would be more of a political victory rather than a military one. Zhdanov compared such a scenario to the Russians capturing Berlin and using such victory for propaganda purposes.

The British defense ministry said in its intelligence bulletin on Wednesday that Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Russian military chief, the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, to become the commander of the “special operation” in Ukraine. Moscow has referred to the war as a “special operation.” The ministry added that Gerasimov would have three deputies, including General Sergei Suroivkin.

“This is a significant development in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s approach to managing the war. The deployment of the CGS as theatre commander is an indicator of the increasing seriousness of the situation Russia is facing, and a clear acknowledgment that the campaign is falling short of Russia’s strategic goals,” said the ministry, adding that Gerasimov’s promotion would be met with mixed reactions, especially from pro-Russian military bloggers, who blame Gerasimov for the poor execution of the war.