Ukrainian fighters are trying to hold defence in Soledar

The night in Soledar in Donetsk Oblast was difficult, but Ukrainian defenders are trying to hold the defence, and the battles continue.

Source: Hanna Maliar, Deputy Minister of Defence, on Telegram

Quote: "The night in Soledar was hot, and battles continued. The enemy has deployed almost all its main forces on the Donetsk front and keeps the intensity of the offensive high."

Details: At the same time, the deputy minister has said that the Ukrainian defenders are "bravely trying to hold the defence".

Maliar has noted that "this is a difficult stage of the war", but Ukraine will undoubtedly win.

Read also: Defence of Soledar, potential encirclement and risks for Bakhmut. Interview with Oleksandr Pohrebyskyi, soldier of the 46th Brigade

Background: 

• The press office of Wagner PMC owner Yevgeny Prigozhin published a photo allegedly from Soledar's salt mine and claimed that mercenaries had taken control of the entire city.
• At the same time, on the evening of 11 January, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that fighting was continuing in Soledar and that the occupiers were trying to take control of the Ukrainian military's supply routes on the Bakhmut front.
• Zelenskyy stressed in an evening video address on 12 January that the Ukrainian defenders were holding the city.
• On 12 January, the US Department of Defense did not confirm that Soledar in Donetsk Oblast had been captured by the Russian occupiers.
• On 13 January, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces had likely captured the city of Soledar. However, this is unlikely to lead to an imminent Russian encirclement of Bakhmut.

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