Russia to beef up forces to liberate Artyomovsk after taking control of Soledar — DPR
TASSJan 12, 2023
On Friday, the spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command rejected Russia's claims that it has captured Soledar in Donetsk, insisting the fight for the small mining town in the eastern part of the country was still going on. "Our units are there, the town is not under Russian control," Serhiy Cherevatyi stated.
Earlier, Russian lawmaker Viktor Vodolatsky said that Soledar is a turning point of the country's military operation, as it facilitates the capture of Bakhmut (Artyomovsk in Russian) and other cities, and allows Russian troops to cut off Ukrainian ammunition supply routes.
After taking Soledar, Russia can now use freed-up forces to achieve similar results in Bakhmut, which it can 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 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 42% chance that Russian troops will reach the center of Bakhmut before 0000 hrs local time on January 20th, 2023, according to the Metaculus prediction community.