A leader of the Russian garrison of eastern Ukraine, Denis Pushilin, showed up in Soledar, a town Moscow allegedly captured more than a week ago and whose loss Kyiv has yet to acknowledge.
The separatists also announced on Monday the capture of two villages, Krasnopolivka and Dvorechye, near Soledar.
“On January 23, 2023, Russian forces liberated Krasnopolivka and Dvoretchie,” in the Donetsk region, a telegram instructed “the staff” of this bastion of pro-Russian separatists about these locations near Bakhmout, the epicenter of fighting between Russia and Russia Ukrainian armed forces for months.
“I visited Soledar (…) It was necessary to understand whether it was necessary to set up humanitarian aid points there,” Mr Pushilin said on Telegram on Sunday evening, accompanying his message with a video shown in the middle of buildings with blacked out Facades and blown windows.
According to Mr Pushilin, “there are very few inhabitants left” in this pre-war town of about 11,000 people, which lies north of Bakhmout.
The capture of Soledar had been announced on January 13 by the Russian army, which, unusually, recognized the crucial role of Wagner Group mercenaries in this battle.
The leader of the Wagner group, Evguéni Prigojine, had already appeared alongside his men in a video he said was filmed in the city’s famous salt mines.
Ukraine has so far not officially acknowledged the loss of Soledar, stating that it continues to fight in its western part. Also on Monday, the regional administration noted “active hostilities near Bakhmout and Soledar” without providing further details.
“Wagner’s men who accompanied us on the journey told us how bloody the fighting was here,” Mr Pushilin said.
He accused Ukrainian forces of trying to destroy “the salt mines” in the city, which could theoretically be used to protect equipment and penetrate behind enemy lines.
According to the Russian army, the capture of Soledar is a step towards encircling the neighboring town of Bakhmout, which Moscow has been trying to capture since the summer and in which both sides are engaged in a bitter battle.