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Around 500 Ukrainian troops fighting off Russian attacks in Soledar could be trapped in the Donetsk town, an ally of the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) told Russian state media.
Yan Gagin, who is described as an adviser to the DPR, led by Kremlin-supported Denis Pushilin, told Russian state news outlet Tass on Wednesday that many of Kyiv's fighters reported to be in the salt mining town could be "wounded."
Gagin said that Ukrainian forces remaining in the embattled town should surrender to Russian forces or "face a silly and inglorious death in a town that's already been liberated."
On Tuesday evening, the head of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed its forces had seized control of the town in a statement posted to his company's Telegram account.
"Units of the Wagner private military company have taken the entire territory of Soledar under their control. The city center has been surrounded, and urban warfare is under way. The number of captives will be announced tomorrow," the statement read, according to the Tass readout.
State media then quoted DPR official Pushilin who said Russian forces were working to "effectively destroy the frontline by taking Soledar, Artyomovsk and Seversk under control."
Pushilin then suggested Russia's forces could flank Ukrainian units and "advance toward Gorlovka and Slavyansk where we could perhaps get around the back of them."
A victory in Soledar and Bakhmut would "enable the Russians to advance toward Kramatorsk and Slovyansk (which was the initial plan six months ago)," Dr. Marina Miron, of the Center for Military Ethics at King's College London, told Newsweek on Wednesday.
"Politically, it would be a massive win for Prigozhin, who has been gaining political traction in the past months. On the one hand, this victory would reinforce his position; on the other, it would boost the morale of the Russian troops after a series of setbacks and territorial losses," she said.
But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov swerved confirming Russian control of Soledar, urging patience for official confirmation.
Another update published by Tass then claimed Russian "Airborne Force units have blocked Soledar from the town's northern and southern parts," quoting Defense Ministry spokesperson Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov.
Konashenkov made no mention of Wagner Forces in Soledar, but said "assault groups are engaged in a battle in the town."
Ukraine denied reports of Soledar's fall on Wednesday, with Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian eastern military command, saying the town is "not under the control of the Russian Federation."
He told Ukrainian TV the situation on the ground was "complicated" as "fierce battles" continued to rage.
Kyiv's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, posted on her Telegram page on Wednesday to deny Russian control in Soledar.
"After the losses suffered, the enemy once again replaced his units, increased the number of Wagnerites, tried to break through the defense of our troops and completely capture the city, but was unsuccessful," she posted.
But the Wagner Group and the Russian military were "likely in control of most of the settlement" following "tactical advances" in recent days, the British Defense Ministry suggested on Tuesday.
The Russian forces are likely looking to assert control over the regional city of Bakhmut, just 10 kilometers from Soledar, as their "main immediate operational objective," the government department said.
On Tuesday, the Institute for the Study of War think tank asserted that Russian forces had not taken the entirety of Soledar "despite several false Russian claims that the city has fallen and that Bakhmut risks imminent encirclement."
"The desire to take Bakhmut has been there for over six months," Miron said. "But when the Russians lost Izyum, many started doubting Bakhmut's military importance."
However, "given a significant highway is going through Bakhmut, it would simplify the logistics for the Russians and complicate them for the Ukrainian troops," she said.
On Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky painted a bleak picture of life in Soledar, which was previously home to 10,000 residents.
"The whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes," he said in his nightly address, before continuing that the town's current state "is what madness looks like."
About the writer
Ellie Cook is a Newsweek security and defense reporter based in London, U.K. Her work focuses largely on the Russia-Ukraine ... Read more