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Members of the Ukrainian military fire anti-aircraft guns at the frontline town of Bakhmut, Ukraine, January 10, 2023. Photo/REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
The news comes after Russia’s private military company Wagner Group claimed this week that its fighters had raided Ukrainian-controlled settlements and were clearing its vast network of underground tunnels.
The city has a pre-conflict population of around 10,500. Soledar is part of Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), but has been controlled by Ukrainian forces since 2014, when the DPR split from the country following a coup in Kiev.
The DPR became part of Russia after holding a referendum in September.
“The liberation of Soledar was completed on the night of January 12,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in its daily briefing.
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The Ministry of Defense added, “The city is essential for the successful continuation of the offensive.”
The Russian Ministry of Defense revealed a number of ways and strategies to seize the city of Soledar.
“Airborne troops blocked Soledar from the north and south, while aircraft and artillery carried out concentrated strikes on Ukrainian troops hiding there,” the Russian Ministry of Defense said.
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