Soledar

There has been fighting near entrances to 200km-long tunnels, which could be used for infiltration.

In the reported statement late on Tuesday, Mr Prigozhin said: "Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. Russia could use access to Soledar's deep, city-like network of salt mine tunnels, dormant since April, to penetrate Ukrainian-controlled territory. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think-tank, has said that Mr Prigozhin, "will continue to use both confirmed and fabricated Wagner Group success in Soledar and Bakhmut to promote the Wagner Group as the only Russian force in Ukraine capable of securing tangible gains". Our fighters are defending bravely," she added. The UK said earlier on Tuesday that Russian troops and the mercenary Wagner Group were "likely" to now be in control of the town. The statement stressed that only Wagner fighters - who are not part of the Russian armed forces - were taking part "in the storming" of Soledar.

Capturing Soledar would be seen as a win for Russian forces, who have experienced months of military losses.

So we can only speculate that the fighting there [in Soledar] is particularly intense because it is of such strategic and military importance. “Soledar is a salt-mining town … “The whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes.

Moscow's troops see the capture of Soledar as a way to envelop the strategic front-line town of Bakhmut.

Everything in the area is completely destroyed, there is almost no life left. And the icing on the cake is the system of Soledar and Bakhmut salt mines, actually a network of underground tunnels. People do, have done, and will keep doing incredible things,” the 46th brigade said in Prigozhin has claimed that every house is a fortification in Bakhmut and soldiers have to fight for every 300 meters there. “It is a unique landscape — ravines and heights, which are natural tunnels. Both sides are likely concerned that they could be used for infiltration behind their lines,” the ministry added.

Ukrainian forces are facing waves of assaults by Russian forces on the small salt-mining town of Soledar, Kyiv officials said, as Russia strives to make its ...

His promotion is the latest in a series of changes to Moscow's military leadership over the course of the war. "The events in Ukraine are not a clash between Moscow and Kyiv - this is a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and above all the United States and Britain," Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said. Russia began what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine on 24 February, citing threats to its own security and a need to protect Russian speakers. "The world knows that every day of Russian presence on Ukrainian soil means deaths, injuries, pain and suffering of people," he wrote in a message on Telegram this morning, under pictures of Ukrainian soldiers. "This is not a complete encirclement, but normal supply along the route is impossible, (and) this is critical for defence," he said. "Russia's Soledar axis is highly likely an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication," the British intelligence briefing said.

Ongoing and powerful attacks by Russian forces were reported on January 9 in the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar, where Ukrainian officials say Russian ...

To read the original story from Current Time, [click here](https://www.currenttime.tv/a/glava-sk-bastrykin-poruchil-vozbudit-ugolovnoe-delo-protiv-aktera-artura-smolyaninova/32215227.html). To read the original story from RFE/RL's Russian Service, [click here](https://www.svoboda.org/a/aleksey-navaljnyy-na-novyy-god-byl-v-10-y-raz-pomeschyon-v-shizo/32215538.html). Mohammad Hosseini was arrested for his part in nationwide protests triggered by the death while in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. RFE/RL could not confirm the presence of members of either group at the commemoration on January 9. The United States said on January 9 that Iran's sale of lethal drones to Russia for use in its ongoing invasion of Ukraine means the country may be "contributing to widespread war crimes." Li said jurors will hear that Saipov hoped to win the favor of the Islamic State group after he immigrated legally in 2010. "The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia has already informed the CSTO joint headquarters in writing that we do not consider it appropriate to conduct such military exercises in the Republic of Armenia in this situation," Pashinian told reporters on January 10. In a written statement to RFE/RL’s Armenian Service, the U.S. Failure to continue supporting Ukraine would be akin to Western nations’ failure to combat the rise of Germany in the 1930s, King said. [Live Briefing](https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-crisis-crosshairs-live-briefing/31668477.html) gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. Tehran is weaponizing the death penalty to punish individuals taking part in protests in order to strike fear into the Iranian population and stamp out dissent, the UN human rights chief said on January 10. Bakhmut and Soledar lie in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, which Putin claims to have annexed.

Russian troops have stepped up an assault on the small salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks ...

Gaining control of it could give Russia a stepping stone to advance on two bigger cities — Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. "And what did Russia want to gain there? This is what madness looks like." Our fighters are bravely holding the defence." "The events in Ukraine are not a clash between Moscow and Kyiv — this is a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and above all the United States and Britain," Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said. "Russia's Soledar axis is highly likely an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication," the British MOD said in an intelligence briefing.

Kiev says its forces are still holding on to positions in eastern mining town of Soledar, withstanding assaults by wave after wave of Russian soldiers and ...

"Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. Head of Russia's private military firm Wagner says his forces have taken control of the Ukrainian town of Soledar— TRT World Now (@TRTWorldNow) The head of Russia's mercenary group Wagner has said his forces had taken control of the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar but that fighting continued, Russian news agencies reported.

Russian troops have stepped up an assault on the small salt mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of attacks ...

[Colonel-General Alexander Lapin](/world/europe/russia-appoints-new-ground-forces-chief-staff-despite-hawks-criticism-2023-01-10/) as chief of staff of the country's ground forces, state-owned news agency TASS reported, despite criticism from hawks over his performance in Ukraine. The spokesperson said that Britain would continue to co-ordinate its support with allies after Germany, France and the United States all indicated last week they would provide [armoured vehicles](/world/europe/what-is-bradley-fighting-vehicle-2023-01-06/). Ukraine and its allies accuse Moscow of an unprovoked war to seize territory. 24, citing threats to its own security and a need to protect Russian speakers. Gaining control of Bakhmut could give Russia a platform to advance on two bigger cities - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. "So many remain on the battlefield ...

Yevgeny Prigozhin poses with some of his mercenaries in Ukrainian town renowned for its salt mines.

Prigozhin, a St Petersburg restaurant owner who rose to fame as “Putin’s chef” – and until earlier this year denied being behind Wagner – has taken on a much more public role since the invasion. Ukraine’s robust defence of Bakhmut has also given the city symbolic importance to Kyiv. He said Russian forces had taken huge losses in the battle. Both sides are likely concerned that they could be used for infiltration behind their lines,” said the briefing. The number of prisoners taken will be announced tomorrow.” [Ukraine](https://www.theguardian.com/world/ukraine), told Russia’s Channel One that Soledar had been taken.

Eastern Ukrainian town renowned for its salt mines has been the centre of days of fierce fighting.

A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on,” Russian news agencies reported “The number of prisoners will be announced tomorrow,” Prigozhin added. He did not provide details.

The head of Russia's mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said early his fighters had taken control of Ukraine's city of Soledar after intense ...

Mr Prigozhin has said that Soledar has been stormed "exclusively" by Wagner units. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti published another photograph of Mr Prigozhin with armed fighters, saying it had been taken in the salt mines of Soledar. "Wagner units have taken control of the whole territory of Soledar," Mr Prigozhin said through his press service on social media, adding that there was fighting in the centre of the city.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry has cited "colossal losses" by Russian forces trying to capture the eastern salt-mining town of Soledar in a sustained offensive ...

"The Minister of Defense of the Republic of Armenia has already informed the CSTO joint headquarters in writing that we do not consider it appropriate to conduct such military exercises in the Republic of Armenia in this situation," Pashinian told reporters on January 10. Assadi was sentenced to 20 years in prison in connection with a plot to bomb a rally of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), an exiled opposition group, outside Paris in June 2018. Tehran is weaponizing the death penalty to punish individuals taking part in protests in order to strike fear into the Iranian population and stamp out dissent, the UN human rights chief said on January 10. The announcement comes as the European Commission is developing a bloc-wide arrangement to deal with $322 billion in Russian central-bank reserves and billions in frozen assets of Russian nationals sanctioned over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. The Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) said on January 10 that at least 44 lawyers have been arrested since September to block their ability to seek justice for arbitrarily arrested activists and protesters. "Our new Vilnius office is a testament to RFE/RL's decades-long partnership with the Lithuanian people," Fly said. A court in the Siberian city of Barnaul has rejected a request by journalist Maria Ponomarenko, who is under house arrest on the charge of discrediting Russia’s armed forces with "fake" social-media posts about the war in Ukraine, to be transferred to a pretrial detention center. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on January 10 that a price cap on Russian oil imposed by Western countries appeared to be achieving its goals of keeping Russian oil on the market while limiting Russia's revenues. The number of Ukrainians coming to Fort Sill is approximately the number it takes to operate one battery, and they will focus on learning to operate and also maintain the Patriot, Pentagon spokesman Air Force General Pat Ryder said. [Live Briefing](https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-crisis-crosshairs-live-briefing/31668477.html) gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's ongoing invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensive, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. The United States accused Russian military contractors backed by the Kremlin on January 10 of interfering in the internal affairs of African countries and "increasing the likelihood that violent extremism will grow" in the Sahel region, which is facing increasing attacks and deteriorating security, an allegation Russia denied. "This is the first Canadian donation of an air-defense system to Ukraine," Defense Minister Anita Anand said after the announcement.

Wagner claims the Ukrainian town is under its control but says 'urban battles' are still ongoing.