The head of Russia’s mercenary group Wagner has claimed his fighters have taken control of the city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, though some “urban battles” were still being fought.
“Wagner units have taken control of the whole territory of Soledar.” Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message posted on Telegram late on Tuesday Jan 10.
He added: “A cauldron has been formed in the center of the city in which urban fighting is going on. The number of prisoners taken will be announced tomorrow.”
Prigozhin said the center of Soledar, 15 kilometers from war-battered Bakhmut, was a “cauldron” of urban fighting.
Prigozhin is an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin who has been hit with Western sanctions. His public profile has risen in recent months, openly criticizing some of the Russian military’s top brass over setbacks in Ukraine.
If Wagner is in control of Soledar, it would mark the first major Russian battlefield success for several months.
Both sides have said battles for Soledar have been bloody and intense. Earlier this week, President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed “the whole land in Soledar is covered with corpses of the invaders,” adding “everything is completely destroyed.”
Prigozhin has claimed that he wants to seize Soledar and the nearby city of Bakhmut because of the strategic opportunity presented by the cavernous salt mines underneath the area which, pre-war, were used to host concerts and sporting events.
“The cherry on the cake is the system of Soledar and Bakhmut mines, which is actually a network of underground cities,” he said on Telegram on Saturday.
“It not only [has the ability to hold] a big group of people at a depth of 80-100 meters, but tanks and infantry fighting vehicles can also move about.”
Prigozhin also claimed the caves hold vast stockpiles of weapons from World War I, but this has been disputed.
U.S. officials believe he’s simply motivated by the potential financial benefit of taking control of the mines which would be in line with Wagner’s modus operandi in other conflicts it has participated in.
