Russian troops are making one other try to advance on the small city of Soledar close to Bakhmut in Ukraine’s japanese Donetsk area, Deputy Protection Minister Hanna Maliar stated on Telegram Monday.
“After an unsuccessful [previous] try to seize Soledar and retreat, the enemy regrouped, restored losses, deployed extra assault items, modified techniques and launched a robust assault,” Maliar stated. “For the time being, the enemy has engaged numerous assault teams shaped from the very best reserves of the Wagner’s troops. The enemy is advancing actually on the corpses of their very own troopers, massively utilizing artillery, a number of rocket launchers and mortars, masking even their very own fighters with fireplace.”
“Heavy combating continues proper at this second,” she added.
Earlier on Monday, Serhii Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian army spokesperson, informed Ukrainian TV that Russia had “managed to pay attention extra of its items” round Soledar and was deploying each “common” troops and mercenaries working for the non-public sector group Wagner there.
The pinnacle of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, stated Sunday that one of many causes he wished to take over Bakhmut and Soledar with a view to management the system of mines in that space, which he described as “a community of underground cities.”
Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Japanese Group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated they had been attempting to evacuate civilians from Soledar however not everybody was prepared to go away.
“Soledar is definitely destroyed,” he stated. “There are residents there. Every thing is being carried out to evacuate them. It’s troublesome to speak in regards to the numbers now. There is part of folks, particularly the older technology, who’ve an amazing concern of change, of leaving their houses and to maneuver someplace. We’re speaking with them, however not at all times everybody agrees [to leave].”
On Sunday night time, President Volodymr Zelensky said that Soledar was “holding out” however it was “extraordinarily onerous.”
