MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. Small pockets of the Ukrainian armed forces’ resistance remain in Soledar, with mop-up continuing in the city. The western part of the town is completely under the control of Russian forces, Andrey Bayevsky, a member of the parliament of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Lieutenant Colonel of the DPR People’s Militia, said on Thursday.
"At the moment there are indeed isolated small pockets of resistance in Soledar, our guys continue to push the enemy in these places. On the whole, the operation developed successfully and already the western outskirts of Soledar are completely under our control," he said during a Soloviev Live TV broadcast.
Bayevsky noted that it was extremely important to control Soledar, as it would make it possible to develop the attack on Artyomovsk from the northern saide and completely cut off the routes of possible supply of the Ukrainian armed forces from the side of Seversk.
Businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday night that Soledar, which had been at the center of battles in recent days, was seized by the fighters of the Wagner private military company. Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov later said that Russian troops had blocked Soledar from the north and south and battles were raging inside the city.