{"id":3018,"date":"2023-01-11T15:02:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-11T15:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3018"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:36:28","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:36:28","slug":"ukraine-says-mining-town-repelled-russian-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/diplomatic-world\/ukraine-says-mining-town-repelled-russian-attack\/2023\/01\/11\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine says mining town repelled Russian attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

KIEV,<\/span> UKRAINE<\/span> (AP)<\/span> Jan,11–<\/span> War<\/span> put<\/span> the<\/span> fate<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> run-down<\/span> salt-mining<\/span> town<\/span> in<\/span> eastern<\/span> Ukraine<\/span> at<\/span> stake<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>According<\/span> to<\/span> military<\/span> analysts,<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> and<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> fought<\/span> street<\/span> by<\/span> street<\/span> to<\/span> keep<\/span> or<\/span> capture<\/span> Soledar.<\/span> The<\/span> city’s<\/span> fall<\/span> is<\/span> unlikely<\/span> to<\/span> mark<\/span> a<\/span> turning<\/span> point<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> war,<\/span> but<\/span> it<\/span> will<\/span> come<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> price<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> Kremlin,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> hungry<\/span> for<\/span> good<\/span> news<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> battlefield<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> few<\/span> months.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>It<\/span> would<\/span> also<\/span> provide<\/span> a<\/span> strategic<\/span> starting<\/span> point<\/span> for<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> seeking<\/span> to<\/span> capture<\/span> other<\/span> areas<\/span> of<\/span> Donetsk<\/span> Oblast,<\/span> which<\/span> are<\/span> still<\/span> under<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> control.<\/span> Luhansk<\/span> province<\/span> had<\/span> been<\/span> the<\/span> main<\/span> target<\/span> of<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> invasion<\/span> of<\/span> Ukraine,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> fighting<\/span> largely<\/span> stalled.<\/span> Serhiy<\/span> Cherevaty,<\/span> a<\/span> spokesman<\/span> for<\/span> Ukraine’s<\/span> Eastern<\/span> Military<\/span> Group,<\/span> said<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> that<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> claims<\/span> about<\/span> Soledar’s<\/span> capture<\/span> were<\/span> “not<\/span> true,”<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> news<\/span> agency<\/span> Suspilne<\/span> reported.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Cherevaty<\/span> did<\/span> not<\/span> provide<\/span> further<\/span> details,<\/span> only<\/span> saying<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> military<\/span> chief<\/span> of<\/span> staff<\/span> would<\/span> provide<\/span> more<\/span> information<\/span> later.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> an<\/span> update<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> morning,<\/span> the<\/span> Chief<\/span> of<\/span> Staff<\/span> named<\/span> Soleder<\/span> only<\/span> among<\/span> the<\/span> cities<\/span> that<\/span> continue<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> bombarded<\/span> by<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Late<\/span> Tuesday,<\/span> Evgeny<\/span> Prigozhin,<\/span> owner<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Wagner<\/span> Group,<\/span> a<\/span> Russian<\/span> private<\/span> military<\/span> company,<\/span> claimed<\/span> his<\/span> soldiers<\/span> took<\/span> control<\/span> of<\/span> Soledar<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> audio<\/span> report<\/span> posted<\/span> on<\/span> his<\/span> Russian<\/span> social<\/span> media<\/span> platform.<\/span> but<\/span> said<\/span> the<\/span> fighting<\/span> would<\/span> continue<\/span> for<\/span> some<\/span> time.<\/span> “Ogama”<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> center<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> city.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> Associated<\/span> Press<\/span> was<\/span> unable<\/span> to<\/span> confirm<\/span> this<\/span> claim.<\/span> Kremlin<\/span> spokesman<\/span> Dmitry<\/span> Peskov<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Wednesday<\/span> that<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> were<\/span> “going<\/span> forward<\/span> with<\/span> positive<\/span> movements”<\/span> in<\/span> Soledar,<\/span> but<\/span> explained<\/span> its<\/span> capture<\/span> when<\/span> asked<\/span> about<\/span> claims<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> was<\/span> under<\/span> Russian<\/span> control.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>“Don’t<\/span> rush,<\/span> let’s<\/span> wait<\/span> for<\/span> an<\/span> official<\/span> statement,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Ukrainian<\/span> President<\/span> Volodymyr<\/span> Zelensky<\/span> said<\/span> this<\/span> week<\/span> that<\/span> “everything<\/span> was<\/span> completely<\/span> destroyed”<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> region<\/span> after<\/span> persistent<\/span> shelling<\/span> and<\/span> weeks<\/span> of<\/span> house-to-house<\/span> hand-to-hand<\/span> fighting.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“All<\/span> the<\/span> land<\/span> near<\/span> Soledar<\/span> is<\/span> covered<\/span> with<\/span> corpses<\/span> of<\/span> occupying<\/span> forces,<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Solder<\/span> is<\/span> known<\/span> for<\/span> mining<\/span> and<\/span> processing<\/span> salt,<\/span> but<\/span> it<\/span> has<\/span> little<\/span> intrinsic<\/span> value.<\/span> But<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> strategic<\/span> point<\/span> 10<\/span> kilometers<\/span> (6<\/span> miles)<\/span> north<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> town<\/span> of<\/span> Bakhmut,<\/span> where<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> are<\/span> about<\/span> to<\/span> besiege.<\/span> The<\/span> capture<\/span> of<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span> would<\/span> cut<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> supply<\/span> lines<\/span> and<\/span> pave<\/span> the<\/span> way<\/span> for<\/span> Russian<\/span> President<\/span> Vladimir<\/span> Putin’s<\/span> forces<\/span> to<\/span> advance<\/span> towards<\/span> Kramatorsk<\/span> and<\/span> Sloviansk,<\/span> the<\/span> main<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> strongholds<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Donetsk<\/span> region.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Michael<\/span> Coffman,<\/span> Director<\/span> of<\/span> Russian<\/span> Studies<\/span> at<\/span> CAN,<\/span> a<\/span> nonprofit<\/span> research<\/span> organization<\/span> in<\/span> Arlington,<\/span> Virginia,<\/span> said<\/span> Soleder’s<\/span> downfall<\/span> “will<\/span> make<\/span> Bakhmut’s<\/span> holdings<\/span> more<\/span> precarious<\/span> for<\/span> Ukraine.”<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>But<\/span> a<\/span> costly<\/span> battle<\/span> of<\/span> attrition<\/span> with<\/span> the<\/span> expected<\/span> heavy<\/span> casualties<\/span> could<\/span> make<\/span> a<\/span> Russian<\/span> victory<\/span> as<\/span> costly<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> defeat.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Now<\/span> Wagner’s<\/span> group,<\/span> which<\/span> reportedly<\/span> includes<\/span> a<\/span> large<\/span> number<\/span> of<\/span> prisoners<\/span> recruited<\/span> from<\/span> Russian<\/span> prisons,<\/span> is<\/span> leading<\/span> an<\/span> attack<\/span> on<\/span> Soledar<\/span> and<\/span> Bakhmut.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Western<\/span> intelligence<\/span> agencies<\/span> estimate<\/span> that<\/span> the<\/span> Wagner<\/span> Group<\/span> accounted<\/span> for<\/span> up<\/span> to<\/span> a<\/span> quarter<\/span> of<\/span> all<\/span> Russian<\/span> fighters<\/span> in<\/span> Ukraine.<\/span> Successes<\/span> at<\/span> Soledar<\/span> and<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span> will<\/span> help<\/span> Prigozhin,<\/span> who<\/span> has<\/span> been<\/span> an<\/span> outspoken<\/span> critic<\/span> of<\/span> Russia’s<\/span> military<\/span> leaders,<\/span> increase<\/span> his<\/span> influence<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Kremlin.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Russia<\/span> illegally<\/span> annexed<\/span> Donetsk,<\/span> Luhansk,<\/span> and<\/span> two<\/span> other<\/span> her<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> provinces<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> September,<\/span> but<\/span> Russian<\/span> forces<\/span> are<\/span> struggling<\/span> to<\/span> move<\/span> forward.<\/span> Fighting<\/span> over<\/span> Bakhmut<\/span> intensified<\/span> after<\/span> Ukrainian<\/span> forces<\/span> recaptured<\/span> the<\/span> city<\/span> south<\/span> of<\/span> Kherson<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> November.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KIEV, UKRAINE (AP) Jan,11– War put the fate of a run-down salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine at stake on Wednesday. According to military analysts, Ukrainian and Russian forces fought street by street to keep or capture Soledar. The city’s fall is unlikely to mark a turning point in the war, but it will come at […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3021,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[24,26,276,2480,2482],"tags":[154,156,170,76,77,132],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/UKRINEWAR.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3018"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3020,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3018\/revisions\/3020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}