The Ministry of Defense announced the capture of Soledar

On the evening of January 12, Soledar was completely taken under the control of the Russian military, this is of great strategic importance for the further offensive. About it informed the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov.

“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,” he said.

The department emphasized that the taking of the city under control was made possible thanks to “the constant fire destruction of the enemy by aviation, missile forces and artillery.” The Ministry of Defense especially noted the actions of the Airborne Forces units, which, with the help of a covert maneuver, were able to block the city from the southern and northern sides.

According to Konashenkov, over the past three days, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Soledar region have lost more than 700 people, as well as 300 weapons.

Konashenkov stressed that thanks to the complete liberation of Soledar, the Russian army will have the opportunity to block the supply routes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Artemovsk and take the Ukrainian troops remaining in it into the cauldron.

On the night of January 11, Acting Head of the DPR Denis Pushilin informed about taking control of the center of Soledar, later the founder of Wagner PMC Evgeny Prigozhin informedthat the fighters of the group took control of the entire territory of Soledar. In the center of the city, according to him, a cauldron was formed in which “urban battles are being fought.”

Later Pushilin notedthat a turning point came in the liberation of the entire territory of the DPR after the Russian military took control of Soledar. According to him, this increases the chances for the liberation of Artemovsk and Seversk, and also makes it possible to destroy the front line. In addition, the capture of settlements opens up the possibility of the liberation of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.

Russia’s special operation in Ukraine began on February 24. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the protection of the inhabitants of Donbass, as well as the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its goals. During the special operation, Russian troops took full control of the LPR, as well as most of the DPR, Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. Subsequently, these territories became part of Russia, and on October 19 martial law was introduced in the regions.