Russian forces on the front line of the bitter fight for control of eastern Ukraine have claimed their first victory in several months of grinding conflict.After some of the war's most intense combat, Moscow's defense ministry said Friday that its military now controls the mining town of Soledar in the Donetsk region, though Ukrainian officials denied that the town had fallen. NBC News has not verified the claims of either side.The capture of Soledar would represent a morale-boosting breakthrough for the Kremlin after a long stretch of setbacks on the battlefield and rare signs of disquiet at home ahead of the war's one-year anniversary.Russia may also now be a step closer to taking Bakhmut, a nearby city that has been devastated by sustained shelling and street battles but remains an important national symbol of Ukrainian defiance.
The fighting in the area has been notable for the prominent role played by fighters from the Wagner group of mercenaries.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has become a public face of the war in recent months behind vocal criticism of the Kremlin’s military leaders.
He had claimed victory in Soledar earlier this week and boasted on social media that his forces were in sole charge of the town. But the Russian Defense Ministry had stopped short of announcing the news and made no mention of Wagner fighters' role.
Moscow eventually said it had captured the town in a statement early Friday.
“On the evening of January 12, the liberation of the city of Soledar was completed, which is important for the continuation of successful offensive operations in the Donetsk direction,” defense ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
But Kyiv pushed back. Serhiy Cherevaty, the spokesman of the Eastern Group of the Ukrainian army, said in an interview that the claim was not true and that fighting was still ongoing in Soledar as of early Friday.
The head of the local Ukrainian administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said earlier this week that only 500 people were left in the town, most of them elderly.
Why it matters
The status of Soledar — known for its extensive underground tunnels and salt mines — has been unclear for days.
The town lies in the eastern Donetsk region, one of four that Putin claimed to have annexed last year despite failing to fully control. After the Russian retreat from Kherson in the south, the focus of the war moved east through the winter to waves of Russian attacks and artillery battles against Ukrainian positions.
The capture of Soledar would serve a military purpose while not constituting a turning point in the war, analysts said. It could also fulfil a personal goal of bolstering Prigozhin’s growing reputation.
Although it has little intrinsic value, Soledar lies at a strategic point around 6 miles north of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are aiming to surround.