Russia's mercenary Wagner group has secured control of Soledar, the group's head has claimed. Soledar is a salt mining town in Ukraine's east. Uncertainty remains around the claim as battles continue in the city centre.
Soledar's proximity to the city of Bakhmut made it the focus of days of intense fighting; Russia considers it key to its campaign for Bakhmut and Ukraine’s larger eastern Donbas region.
“Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on,” Russian news agencies reported Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as saying late on Tuesday, Al Jazeera reported. Prigozhin added the number of prisoners will be announced tomorrow. The Ukrainian soldiers who have been surrounded have been given an ultimatum to surrender by midnight.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Tuesday, shared an image of himself surrounded by Wagner fighters in one of Soledar’s salt mines. Top US officials on Monday claimed that the group is ramping up operations outside of Ukraine. Officials had also indicated that Prigozhin is interested in taking over salt and gypsum mines in the region. Ukrainian officials haven't commented on Prigozhin's claims and the image hasn't been verified yet.
“At the current time, according to the information I have, the centre of Soledar is already under the control of Wagner units,” Denis Pushilin, a Russian proxy official in eastern Ukraine told the Guardian.
