MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. The Blagodatnoye settlement near Soledar in the DPR has come under control of Russia’s forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner private military company, said on Sunday.
"The units of the Wagner PMC took Blagodatnoye. Blagodatnoye is under our control," his press service quoted him as saying on its Telegram channel. The commentary is accompanied by an audio recording of remarks by a commander of an assault unit that reached the southern outskirts of Blagodatnoye.
On January 12, Soledar was cleared of Ukrainian formations, the Russian Defense Ministry reported earlier. According to Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, full control over this city makes it possible to cut off the supply routes for Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk and subsequently block and encircle the units holed up there.