The founder and head of the Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says the group has taken control of the “entire territory of Soledar.”
CNN has been unable to verify those claims and Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky in his nightly address thanked Ukrainian soldiers “for their bravery and steadfastness in defending Soledar.”
A Ukrainian solder told CNN on Tuesday that the situation in and around the city was “critical” and “difficult”.
Prigozhin said in a short comment on his Telegram channel that the center of Soledar is “like a cauldron, where urban fighting is taking place.”
He added that it was only Wagner units fighting for control of the city, not the Russian Armed Forces.
Some context: The capture of Soledar – a salt mining town in eastern Ukraine – would have military and commercial value for Russia. Ukrainian troops have repelled a previous Russian attempt to capture the town, Zelensky’s deputy defense minister had said on Monday
