Russian and Ukrainian forces are locked in a fierce fight over the salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, just six miles from the strategic city of Bakhmut.
Russia said Wednesday that its units had blocked the town from the north and south, while “assault units are fighting in the city.” Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group, meanwhile, said its units had seized control of the town. Ukrainian officials dismissed the claim, calling it propaganda.
“Heavy fighting continues in Soledar,” Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said in a Telegram post. “After suffering losses, the enemy once again carried out replacement of its units, increased the number of Wagnerites, tried to break through the defense of our troops and fully capture the city, but was unsuccessful.”
The capture of Soledar would mark a symbolic victory for Russia, which has faced a large number of battlefield setbacks, although analysts have downplayed its strategic significance.
Here’s the latest on the war and its ripple effects across the globe.
4. From our correspondents
The convicts were apparently sent to some of the most dangerous hot spots on the front line, and many were killed, The Washington Post’s Mary Ilyushina reports. About two dozen of them, initially recruited by the Wagner mercenary group in circumvention of Russian law, have now returned home but will probably return to the front in a matter of weeks, according to Russia Behind Bars, a prisoner rights group.
Erin Cunningham
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