Russia to beef up forces to liberate Artyomovsk after taking control of Soledar — DPR
TASSJan 12, 2023
Ukraine's deputy defense minister Hanna Malyar said on Thursday that the country's forces are "holding on" to the Donetsk town of Soledar — contradicting earlier claims from Russia's Wagner mercenary group that it had taken control of the town.
The message was echoed by Ukrainian Pres. Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly address on Wednesday. "Now the terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend [that they have achieved success in Soledar]," he said. However, "fighting continues" Zelenskyy stated.
After having taken Soledar, Russia can now use freed-up forces to achieve similar results in Bakhmut, which it will be able to attack from multiple directions. The success in Soledar also opens the door for further Russian advances in the wider Donetsk region.
Russia is spreading false news about the capture of Soledar in order to give its population positive news from an otherwise disastrous military campaign. Russia is also desperately trying to shore up support ahead of future mobilization drives.
There's a 20% chance that Ukraine will have de facto control of at least 90% of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts by January 1, 2024, according to the Metaculus prediction community.