Russian mercenary group Wagner says it has taken over salt-mining town, but Moscow has held off proclaiming victory
said on Thursday its troops were still holding out despite heavy fighting on a battlefield covered with bodies in a salt mining town in eastern Ukraine, where Russian mercenaries have claimed Moscow’s first significant gain in half a year.
Malyar said Russia had increased the number of units in Ukraine to 280 from 250 in the past week as it seeks to gain the strategic initiative. Chief of staff for more than a decade, Gerasimov had become a target of abuse from nationalist bloggers, many with hundreds of thousands of subscribers, who have flourished even as the Kremlin has shut all independent media and jailed its critics.
Ukraine’s defence ministry offered mockery: “Every Russian general must receive at least one opportunity to fail in Ukraine,” it tweeted. “Some may be lucky enough to fail twice.”If Russia succeeds in capturing Soledar, it would be Moscow’s biggest gain since a series of humiliating retreats in the second half of 2022. But military experts say the cost has been disproportionate, after intense battles that littered the freezing mud with bodies.
On Wednesday, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces had captured all of Soledar and killed about 500 Ukrainian troops after heavy fighting, but the Kremlin was more cautious.
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