for the Russian Embassy in France, the fate of the city of Soledar is “sealed”
AFP
Ukraine: Wagner group claims control of Soledar, kyiv denies
Russian mercenary group Wagner on Wednesday claimed control of the town of Soledar, scene of heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine in recent days, a claim which Kiev has immediately denied. of Bakhmout, which Ukraine has been fiercely defending for months against surging Russian troops. Soledar’s strategic importance is debated, but his capture will allow Moscow to finally achieve a military victory after several humiliating setbacks since last September, and the leader of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to cement his growing influence on the Russian political scene. downtown, making the Russian group’s degree of control over Soledar uncertain. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti released a photo of Mr Prigozhin with armed fighters, saying it was taken at the Soledar salt mine. The Ukrainian army disputed these claims, assuring that the town of Soledar “was, is, and will always be Ukraine”. It was “not true” that Prigozhin was inside the Soledar salt mine, the Ukrainian military said. AFP was unable to independently verify the situation on the ground. M. Prigozhin says Ukraine’s “prisoner count” will be announced on Wednesday – “Exclusively” Wagner – The Russian military did not immediately comment on Wagner’s remarks, whose influence has diminished significantly since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Many analysts believe there is competition acrimony between Wagner and the Russian army. Prigozhin claimed that Soledar had been raided “exclusively” by Wagner units, without the aid of the army. One of the main leaders of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, considered the announcement of Soledar’s arrest a “turning point”. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated this week that his troops resisted a “violent attack” in Soledar. By Tuesday evening he had reported a “difficult situation” in the Donetsk region, where Soledar is located. tactical advances” on Soledar over the last four days and “most likely an attempt to encircle Bakhmout from the north” and “disrupt the Ukrainian lines of communication”. Ukrainian colleague Dmytro Kouleba, who accompanied him to Kharkiv, Ms. Baerbock assured that Ukraine can count on “solidarity” and “support” of Germany’s Starlink Internet. He also announced the delivery of new generators for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, which were being systematically bombed by Russia. For his part, Mr Kouleba urged Germany to provide Ukraine with heavy armored vehicles. “The longer such a decision is delayed, the more casualties, the more civilian deaths,” he said. Zelensky, for his part, announced late on Tuesday that he had stripped wealthy businessman Viktor Medvedchuk of Ukrainian citizenship, a close friend of Vladimir Putin, whom Kyiv accuses of high treason for Russia. born in Siberia and considered the person of the president of Russia in Ukraine, was handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange between Kyiv and Moscow in late September 2022, after being imprisoned for more than five months in Ukraine.bur/mba
