KYIV/SIVERSK: According to officials in Kyiv, Russia has intensified its attack on Soledar in eastern Ukraine, forcing Ukrainian troops to repel waves of assaults from the Wagner contract militia around the salt mining town and nearby fronts.
Soledar, in the industrial Donbas region, lies a few miles from Bakhmut, where troops from both sides have been taking heavy losses in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago.
According to Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar, the Wagner Group quickly returned after being repelled in an earlier attempt to take the town, using new tactics and deploying more soldiers under heavy artillery cover.
Using mortars, MLRS systems, and massed artillery, the enemy "literally steps over the corpses of their own soldiers," Malyar claimed.
A day after receiving criticism for an ostensibly false claim of a missile strike on a temporary Ukrainian barracks, the Russian defense ministry failed to mention Soledar or Bakhmut in a routine media briefing on Monday.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, founded Wagner. It is active in conflicts in Africa and has played a significant part in Russia's war effort in Ukraine. It recruits some of its members from Russian prisons and is known for its unrelenting violence.
For months, Prigozhin has been attempting to capture Bakhmut and Soledar at great human cost. He claimed on Saturday that it was significant due to a system of vast underground mining tunnels that can accommodate large crowds of people as well as tanks and other military vehicles.
Oleh Zhdanov, a military analyst from Ukraine, claimed that the fighting in Bahkmut and Soledar is "the most intense on the entire frontline," with little progress being made by either side due to the subzero temperatures.
"So many (pro-Russian fighters) remain on the battlefield, either dead or wounded," he said on YouTube. "They attack our positions in waves, but the wounded as a rule die where they lie, either from exposure as it is very cold or from blood loss." No one is coming to help them or to collect the dead from the battlefield."
Bakhmut and Soledar were still standing despite extensive destruction, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video remarks on Monday.
He mentioned more recent and vicious attacks in Soledar, where no walls were left standing and the ground was covered in Russian corpses, according to him.
"We have won for Ukraine additional time and additional strength," Zelenskiy said, praising the tenacity of his troops in Soledar. What he meant by "gaining time" or "gaining strength" was not made clear.
However, Ukrainian officials, led by the top commander General Valery Zaluzhniy, have issued a warning that Russia is assembling new forces for a fresh, significant offensive against Ukraine, which may target the capital Kyiv.
Zelenskiy also seems to be counting on obtaining more advanced weapons from Ukraine's Western allies in order to repel attacks and ultimately drive out Russian troops.
He continued his diplomatic work on Monday by speaking with Petr Fiala, the prime minister of the Czech Republic, which is currently in charge of the 27-member European Union.
"I have no doubt that the weapons and supplies will reach our front-line soldiers. really soon "said he.
Last week, the United States, France, and Germany all agreed to send armoured fighting vehicles in response to a long-standing request from Ukraine. According to a Western source cited by Sky News, Britain is considering providing Ukraine with tanks for the first time. The British Defense Ministry remained silent.
Iran could be contributing to war crimes in Ukraine by providing drones to Russia, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday.
The United States has imposed sanctions on companies and people it accused of producing or transferring Iranian drones used by Russia. The White House said last week it is considering ways to target Iran's production of the unmanned weaponised aircraft through sanctions and export controls.
Ukrainian journalist Taras Berezovets says capturing Soledar would be little sense, except as a personal victory for Prigozhin. Military analysts say the strategic military benefit for Russia of capturing Bakhmut and Soledar will be limited. A U.S. official has said Russian oligarch Vladimir Putin is eyeing the salt and gypsum from mines believed to extend over 100 miles underground.
Ukrainian military spokesman Berezovets says it is hard to determine who is with you and who is the enemy in cities like Bakhmut and Soledar. Ukrainian troops say attacks come in waves of small groups, no more than 15, with the first wave usually wiped out. Pro-Russian forces retrench and leave white ribbons for the next wave to follow.