Ukraine says fiercely fighting to hold Soledar, but situation ‘difficult’

Ukraine says its forces are fighting fiercely against Russian troops to retain control of the Donetsk city of Soledar, but the situation is "difficult."

At a press conference on Thursday, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar said holding Soledar turned out to be difficult due to stiff resistance from Russian troops. "The fiercest and heaviest fighting is continuing today in the area of Soledar," she said.

Moscow is determined to seize total control of the industrial eastern region of Donetsk as its primary objective.

"Despite the difficult situation, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting stubbornly," Malyar said.

Earlier this week, the Wagner private military company claimed its forces had managed to fully seize Soledar, a salt mining town with an estimated pre-war population of more than 10,000 people. However, Russia's Defense Ministry rejected the claim, saying fighting was ongoing. Kiev, for its part, denied any full takeover.

Both Russia and Ukraine have conceded heavy losses in the fight for Soledar and the nearby larger town of Bakhmut. 

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"Huge work has been done in Soledar, absolutely selfless heroic actions, not only in Soledar, but also in many places," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. "There is still a lot of work ahead. The main work is yet to come."

A day earlier, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said for Ukraine, Bakhmut, and with it Soledar, could be a launching pad to regain control of the city of Donetsk, a Russian stronghold since 2014. "There's a lot of blood, a lot of artillery dueling, a lot of close contact fighting, especially today in Soledar."

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Separately on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said military units fighting to keep Russian forces at bay in Bakhmut and Soledar would be provided with all necessary weapons. "I want to emphasize that the units defending these cities will be provided with ammunition and everything necessary, on time and without interruption."

Although Soledar is of little strategic importance, Bakhmut is considered as key to Russia's aim to keep all of Donetsk away from Ukraine.

Russia started its "special military operation" in Ukraine with the declared aim of "de-Nazifying" the country on February 24, 2022. Since then, the United States and Europe have imposed waves of unprecedented economic sanctions on Moscow and supplied large consignments of heavy weaponry to Kiev. The Kremlin has time and again warned the sanctions and the Western military assistance will only prolong the war.

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