Russia has claimed its forces have taken control of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, in what would be a rare battelfied success for Moscow after months of setbacks.
Ukraine denied the claims and said its troops were still fighting in the Donetsk salt-mining town, which has been the focus of a relentless Russian assault.
Moscow has painted the battles for Soledar and the nearby city of Bakhmut as key to capturing the entire Donbas, encompassing the regions of Donetsk and Luhansk – a priority of Vladimir Putin’s invasion. Kyiv has instead sought to play up how many Russian troops have had to be sacrified in the effort. Western officials say victory for Moscow in the two towns would be more symbolic than strategic.
Russian-aligned mercenaries from the Wagner Group claimed they had won the town days before any official word from Moscow, with a rift beginning to form between the group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin – known as “Putin’s chef” – and the Kremlin.
"The capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces," Moscow's defence ministry said in its initial statement on Friday. Mr Prigozhin then released a statement saying he was “surprised” to read the defence ministry briefing. There “wasn’t a single paratrooper” in the town, he insisted, warning against “insulting [his] fighters” and “stealing others’ achievements”.
The defence ministry later issued a second statement "to clarify" the situation. "As for the direct storming of Soledar's city quarters occupied by the armed forces of Ukraine, this combat task was successfully accomplished by the courageous and selfless actions of volunteers from the Wagner assault detachments," it said.
On Friday evening, Mr Prigozhin accused "officials who want to stay in their places" of being the biggest threat to his group's advance in Ukraine.
Ukraine would usually be happy to make the most of Russian in-fighting in its statements, but Kyiv was more concerned with denying the claims of victory from Moscow. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern military command, said: “Our units are there, the town is not under Russian control.”
A Ukrainian officer in the area, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media, also told Reuters the Russians had not fully taken the town.
“Last night artillery fire was like from hell, both sides. From what I know, our boys have managed to exit some parts [of Soledar] in an orderly manner and now [assault] groups are counterattacking, but we still hold the town.”
Ukrainian officials said on Thursday more than 500 civilians, including 15 children, were trapped inside the town.
In an video address on Thursday night, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked two units in Soledar he said were “holding their positions and inflicting significant losses on the enemy.” He did not give more details.
As Ukrainian troops take part in drills near the Belarusian border, preparing for what Kyiv fears will be a new Russian offensive launched from Moscow’s closest ally, Russia’s foreign ministry official said Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko may enter the conflict in Ukraine if Kyiv decides to “invade” either country.
Russia used Belarus as a springboard to invade Ukraine last February and since October has deployed troops in Belarus for joint military drills.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s allies continued to ramp-up support with new weapons pledges. Finland joined Poland in promising to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of a Western coalition apparently being put together to supply them. The move will require the permission of Germany, which has indicated a shift away from its initial reluctance.
Major new announcements of weapons are likely next week when US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin hosts defence chiefs from allies at an air base in Germany.
Reuters contributed to this report
