Putin-Linked Mercenaries Say They Now Control Key Strategic Town Soledar — Ukraine Says It's Still In The Fight

As the war in Ukraine intensified, both parties made conflicting claims about Ukraine’s eastern town of Soledar on Tuesday. 

What Happened: While Russian leader Vladimir Putin–linked mercenary group Wagner Group claimed control of Ukraine's Soledar, the war-torn nation said its forces were holding out.

“Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been formed in the center of the city in which urban fighting is going on,” Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Putin ally, said on Telegram.

“The number of prisoners will be announced tomorrow,” Prigozhin said without giving more details. 

Soledar has recently seen intense fighting as Moscow views it as a key town to its campaign to gain control of the strategic city of Bakhmut and the larger eastern Donbas region.

The U.K. intelligence had earlier said that the Russian army and Wagner fighters had probably taken control of most of Soledar after recent advances. Soledar and its huge salt mines are important to Russia, but the current situation appeared fluid as Prigozhin’s said that fighting continued in Soledar, despite his statement that the town was in Wagner’s control.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not mention control of Soledar in his Tuesday evening address. Although, Zelenskyy repeated his call for more weapons from allies, saying Putin was gathering its forces to intensify its campaign.

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