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Military operation in Ukraine

Over 400 foreign mercenaries fled to Seversk from Soledar — LPR officer

Colonel Vitaly Kiselyov suggested that nationalist units were stationed in Soledar as an anti-retreat force

LUGANSK, January 13. /TASS/. Around 400 foreign mercenaries and members of Ukrainian nationalist battalions fled the recently liberated city of Soledar and are now in the DPR city of Seversk, Colonel Vitaly Kiselyov, a military analyst in the Lugansk People’s Republic, told TASS on Friday.

"Residents reported seeing English-and Polish-speaking military in the city of Seversk. We have no information about how many mercenaries are currently there, maybe approximately 300-400 people. It is possible that those mercenaries <…> fled Soledar. Also, [members of] Kraken [Ukrainian nationalist battalion] and the Right Sector [Ukrainian nationalist organization, outlawed in Russia] were spotted in Seversk," he said.

Kiselyov suggested that nationalist units were probably stationed in Soledar as an anti-retreat force.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Friday that Russian troops had liberated the city of Soledar, which saw heavy fighting in the past few days. The coordinator for inter-parliamentary relations with the People's Council of the LPR, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, Viktor Vodolatsky, later told TASS that about half of those fighting on the Ukrainian side near Soledar were foreign mercenaries and military personnel from NATO countries.

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Military operation in Ukraine

Military operation in Ukraine

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