Ukrainian forces on Thursday continue their efforts to repel the Russian attack on the eastern city of Solidar despite Russia's Wagner Group's claim of control.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ghana Maliar confirmed at a news conference that the army was fighting for Solidar in eastern Ukraine but that the situation was "difficult" on the ground amid "fier" battles with Russian forces.

"The fiercest and most violent fighting continues today (Thursday) in Solidar," she said, adding that "although the situation is difficult, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting non-stop" to not give Russian forces, especially those of the Wagner Group, to then attack the neighboring northern city of Bakhmut.

Solidar, once famous for its salt mines, is located 15 km northeast of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been trying to control since the summer.

For military analyst Anatoly Khramchikhin, taking control of this small pre-war town of 10,000 and now completely destroyed will allow Moscow to achieve a military victory after several setbacks.

“Any victory will be important, especially because there have been no victories in a while,” he explained.

Wagner Group Chairman Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Wednesday his fighters had taken control of Solidar after heavy battles before the Russian Defense Ministry and Kiev denied it, suggesting that fighting was still going on.

But the Kremlin on Thursday praised Wagner’s “huge action” and “heroic actions” on the battlefront.

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “We still have a lot of work to do. There’s no time to stop and rejoice.”

"Samdown"

"Russia is sending thousands of its citizens to the slaughterhouse, but we are steadfast," Ghana Maliar said, praising the "resistance and heroism" of Ukrainian forces.

After Russia suffered successive defeats in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin was forced to declare a partial mobilization of hundreds of thousands of reservists and launch a series of strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.

Without providing figures, Maliar said Thursday that Russian forces fighting in Solidar were “bearing heavy losses (...) And it is unsuccessfully trying to penetrate our defense.”