For more than 9 days, heavy and bloody battles have been going on in Soledar, Donetsk Region. The Russian private military company (PMC) Wagner sends an army of mercenaries to attack, and the Defense Forces of Ukraine are trying to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the occupiers.
Last Friday, January 6, a video shot by mercenaries of the Wagner PMC appeared on the Internet. On it, they are allegedly located on the territory of the Artemsil enterprise in the central part of Soledar.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine did not comment on this information at that time.
And the OSINT investigators, after analyzing the video of the Wagnerites, came to the conclusion that it was indeed filmed at the Artemsil plant.
January 7
On Saturday, January 7, the General Staff reported in its morning briefing that the Ukrainian military repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the Soledar area.
The 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade of the Airborne Assault Forces (AAF) reported that heavy fighting is taking place in Soledar. At the same time, according to the Ukrainian military, the city is under control of the Defense Forces.
The paratroopers also emphasized at the time that the real successes of the occupiers did not correspond to what was reported by the Russian propaganda.
Ukrainian journalist and editor-in-chief of Censor.NET Yurii Butusov published a post in which he announced that he was in Soledar together with the Ukrainian military.
According to him, the fighters of the 46th separate airmobile brigade are confidently holding the lines of defense in the city.
January 8
On Sunday, January 8, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in its traditional briefing that the Defense Forces repelled numerous attacks by Russian invaders and mercenaries.
In the evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that the commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, personally visited the positions of the Defense Forces in Bakhmut and Soledar.
During his address, Zelenskyy emphasized that Soledar is holding on, despite the fact that the city is almost completely destroyed as a result of shelling.
January 9
On the morning of January 9, the General Staff confirmed that the Ukrainian military repelled the attacks of the occupiers in Soledar.
On the website of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a message was also published about the visit of Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi to Soledar.
He met with the soldiers of the Defense Forces, discussed with them the current situation in this direction and gave recommendations on strengthening the defense.
Syrskyi also awarded military personnel who distinguished themselves in battles with the occupiers.
Commenting on the situation in Soledar, Syrskyi said that the private military company Wagner sent the most experienced mercenary squads to storm the city.
According to him, this did not help the invaders and they were forced to retreat with heavy losses.
However, already in the evening of the same day, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar announced that the mercenaries had regrouped and launched a large-scale assault.
Almost at the end of the day, journalist Yurii Butusov published a report about the situation in Soledar.
According to him, there are ongoing battles for every single house in the city. Combat clashes have the character of close combat, the distance between the parties sometimes does not exceed 20-30 meters.
Butusov noted that the Wagnerites send many assault groups and absolutely do not pay attention to losses.
He also said that the occupiers were allegedly able to take a position from which they are shooting at the highway leading to the west. It supplies the city.
And the officer of the Armed Forces Taras Berezovets called the situation in Soledar "more acute" than in Bakhmut.
He said that the Wagnerites use the tactics of small assault groups, which, despite everything, are trying to break through to the northern outskirts of the city.
January 10
This morning, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine confirmed that the Defense Forces in Soledar also repelled the attacks of the Russian invaders.
We will remind, earlier today, the representative of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Serhii Cherevatyi, said that in Soledar, the Ukrainian military is doing everything to ensure that the actions of the Wagnerites turn into colossal losses for them.
Ukrainian journalist Andrii Tsapliyenko published a video from Soledar, where fighters of the 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade are fighting the occupiers.
We will remind, on Tuesday, January 10, the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom published another intelligence review about the situation in Ukraine.
According to British intelligence experts, the Wagner PMC mercenaries were able to make a tactical advance and currently control most of Soledar.
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