Ukrainian officials said Russian attacks continued Sunday in Soledar, located near Bakhmut in the Donetsk Oblast.
The region has been further inundated with Russian soldiers and mercenaries headed by Wagner Group financier Yevgeny Prigozhin. Last Friday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said Wagner troops had military success in Soledar, located about 11 miles away from Bakhmut.
The group was involved in 22 clashes last week, viewed by White House officials as Prigozhin’s attempts to take control of salt and gypsum mines near Bakhmut.
Aggression has continued after Russian President Vladimir Putin encouraged a two-day ceasefire in recognition of Orthodox Christmas festivities.
Serhiy Cherevaty, speaker of the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on-air during a telethon on Sunday that Russians launched 106 shellings in Soledar that accompanied a total of 22 clashes part of a larger, “fierce battle,” according to Ukrainska Pravda, a Ukrainian online news outlet.
“Measures are being taken directly to prevent the enemy from advancing further, systematic strikes are being carried out from our side,” Cherevaty said. “Yesterday (January 8), additional forces and means were allocated to the commanders there in Soledar.”
The city remains “under constant control,” he added, expressing optimism that joint efforts will lead to stability. He also is hopeful that the frigid weather will allow Ukraine to utilize heavy machinery to wage a successful counteroffensive, including tanks, BMPs (infantry fighting vehicles) and armored personnel carriers.
“Which side will prepare better—prepare its equipment for the winter stage of operation, prepare personnel, develop better tactical plans—will have an advantage,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a video address Sunday that the Ukrainian military “repelled the constant attempts of the Russian offensive” in Soledar and Bakhmut, adding that there is not a piece of land between two cities where “occupiers would not give his life for the crazy ideas of the leadership of the Russian regime.”
“This is one of the bloodiest places on the front,” Zelensky said, according to a translation by the Kyiv Independent.
The president also reported that Ivan Syrskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, visited both cities on Sunday to honor soldiers with medals while improving defense mechanisms.
Zelensky mocked Russia’s calls for a ceasefire, saying the country’s manipulation tactics, in the realms of democracy and politics, will “never work” to solve this ongoing conflict.
“Only the strengthening of Ukraine, only the successes of Ukraine, only the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, only the return of all our people from Russian captivity are guarantees for the restoration of peace,” Zelensky wrote Sunday on Telegram. “We are getting closer to it every day.”
The Ukraine Ministry of Defense tweeted Monday that hundreds of supposedly “killed” Ukrainian soldiers are repelling Russian suicide attacks in Bakhmut and Soledar.
“History has known battles won through guile,” the MOD tweeted. “But a lie defeats itself every time.”
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian and Russian defense ministries for comment.
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