• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, January 26, 2023
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home World

Fate of Ukraine’s Soledar Unclear as Wagner Claims Control

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
01/11/23
in World
Soledar lies 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to seize for months

Soledar lies 15 kilometres (nine miles) from the city of Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to seize for months. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

The fate of the Ukrainian city of Soledar was unclear on Wednesday, with Russian mercenary group Wagner claiming control of it while also saying “urban battles” were still being fought.

Both sides have said the battle for Soledar, known for its salt mines, has been intense and bloody. Its fall would mark a significant victory for Moscow’s forces. 

Soledar, in the Donetsk region, lies 15 kilometers (nine miles) from the city of Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to seize for months. 

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia’s controversial mercenary Wagner group, claimed in the early hours of Wednesday that his fighters seized control of the town. 

“Wagner units have taken control of the whole territory of Soledar,” Prigozhin alleged on social media.

But the Kremlin-linked businessman added that “urban battles are being fought in the city centre.”

He also said “the number of captives” will be announced Wednesday.

He posted a photograph of himself in military attire, surrounded by Wagner fighters, without saying where it was.

‘Exclusively’ Wagner

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published another photograph of Prigozhin with armed fighters, saying it was taken in the salt mines of Soledar.

Yevgeny Prigozhin and Wagner Group fighters in a Soledar salt mine pic.twitter.com/iebSo6VV3M

— Samuel Ramani (@SamRamani2) January 10, 2023

Prigozhin has said Soledar had been stormed “exclusively” by Wagner units.

The Russian army has not yet commented. 

Ukraine said this week its fighters were holding out against intense assaults on the city.

“Even after suffering colossal losses, Russia is still maniacally trying to seize Soledar,” Kyiv’s defense ministry said late on Tuesday. 

President Volodymyr Zelensky said there was a “difficult situation” in the Donetsk region in his daily night address on Tuesday. He praised the “bravery” of Ukrainian soldiers defending Soledar.

Earlier this week, he said Soledar had been flattened by fighting: “Everything is completely destroyed.” 

The UK said Tuesday that Moscow’s forces were “likely in control” of Soledar. 

Kharkiv Strikes

The potential fall of Soledar came as Russian strikes hit the major city of Kharkiv further north, just hours after a surprise visit by Germany’s foreign minister Annalena Baerbock.  

Kharkiv has faced heavy bombardment during the war, but the frontline has moved east since a Ukrainian counter-offensive last year retook territory from Russian forces.  

Baerbock vowed further German support for Kyiv on her unannounced trip. 

But her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, who accompanied her, said Berlin’s refusal to send Kyiv battle tanks was costing lives. 

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz recently agreed to provide to Ukraine Marder infantry fighting vehicles long sought by Kyiv in its battle against Russia’s offensive. 

But Berlin has so far declined to supply Ukraine with more advanced Leopard battle tanks. 

The “longer it takes to make the decision, the more people will die,” Kuleba said.

Last week, France’s Emmanuel Macron promised Zelensky that Paris would send French-made light tanks to Kyiv. This would make France the first Western country to deliver tanks to Ukraine. 

The move has put pressure on Germany. 

Baerbock stressed that Germany will keep supplying weapons “that Ukraine needs in order to free its citizens who are still suffering under the terror of Russian occupation.”

Baerbock brought with her a “further help package” of power generators, 20 million euros ($21 million) for demining and 20 million euros as financial help for the Starlink project ensuring internet access in the country.

Several Western leaders have visited Ukraine since the Kremlin launched its offensive on February 24 last year, but none have traveled so far east as Baerbock.  

Her visit was kept secret for security reasons and announced only as she made her way back to Berlin.

Putin Ally Stripped of Citizenship

Zelensky on Tuesday also said he had revoked the citizenship of Viktor Medvedchuk, once seen as Russian leader Vladimir Putin‘s top ally in Kyiv.

Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who was handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange last September, was stripped of his citizenship along with three others, Zelensky said in his daily address.

The move was appropriate for those who “choose to serve not the people of Ukraine, but the murderers who came to Ukraine,” Zelensky said.

Ukrainian tycoon Medvedchuk was captured in April last year by Ukraine’s special services, after fleeing home arrest when Russia launched its offensive. 

The super-rich powerbroker — once dubbed the “dark prince” of Ukrainian politics — was accused of high treason and attempting to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea and of handing Ukrainian military secrets to Moscow.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

AFP with The Globe Post

Related Posts

The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020
World

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

by Staff Writer
January 25, 2023
Russian passports
World

EU Won’t Recognize Russian Passports From Occupied Ukraine

by Staff Writer
November 10, 2022
Russia Today
World

Russian TV Host Apologizes for Calls to Burn Ukrainian Children

by Staff Writer
October 24, 2022
Arne Schoenbohm
World

German Cybersecurity Chief Sacked Over Alleged Russia Ties

by Staff Writer
October 18, 2022
Ukraine protest
World

Rape Used in Ukraine as a Russian ‘Military Strategy:’ UN

by Staff Writer
October 14, 2022
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan
World

‘Ukraine Could Extradite Russians to International Criminal Court’

by Staff Writer
October 13, 2022
Next Post
People cool off with a fountain's water during a heat wave in Seville, Spain

UN Confirms 2022 Among Eight Hottest Years on Record

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

Please login to join discussion

Recommended

The Doomsday Clock reads 100 seconds to midnight, a decision made by The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, during an announcement at the National Press Club in Washington, DC on January 23, 2020

‘Doomsday Clock’ Moves Closest Ever to Midnight

January 25, 2023
Police work near the scene of a mass shooting in Monterey Park, California

California Lunar New Year Mass Shooter Dead, Motive Unclear: Police

January 23, 2023
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern

Race on To Replace Ardern as New Zealand Prime Minister

January 20, 2023
Pfizer logo and vaccines

Pfizer to Sell More Drugs at Cost to Poor Nations

January 18, 2023
Rescuers inspect the wreckage at the site of a Yeti Airlines plane crash in Pokhara, Nepal

At Least 67 Killed in Nepal Plane Crash

January 16, 2023
George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023

Opinion

George Santos from the 3rd Congressional district of New York

George Santos for Speaker!

January 16, 2023
Commuters waiting for buses in Metro Manila. Philippines

Eight Billion and Counting…

November 29, 2022
Mahsa Amini protests

Imagining a Free Iran

October 24, 2022
Vladimir Putin

How 18th Century International Law Clarifies the Situation in Ukraine

September 29, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Falling for Putin

September 15, 2022
US President Donald Trump

Donald Trump Thanks You for Your Sacrifice

August 17, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post