The Ukrainian army assures that the Russians have not taken Soledar

The Ukrainian army said on Friday that Russian troops have not taken the city of Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, contrary to what was previously announced by the Russian Defense Ministry.

Serhiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern Forces Group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told RBC-Ukraine that it is "not true" that Russian troops have taken the city and that fighting is continuing in it.

"No, this is not true. Fighting is happening in the city," said Cherevaty, who declined to give more details about the situation in Soledar for security reasons.

The statement of Cherevaty became known after the official statement from Moscow, where it was assured that Russian troops had taken control of the city on the night of December 12.

"The liberation of the city of Soledar was completed on December 12," ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying by the daily war report.

According to the department headed by Sergei Shoigu, the seizure of the city, where intense fighting was being waged in recent weeks, will make it possible to cut off the supply routes of Ukrainian troops in neighboring Bakhmut and encircle the Kiev forces in that city.

Despite the Russian statement, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry did not confirm the information and assured that the fighting in the city is continuing, as reported by the Ukrainian Unian agency.

Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar, for her part, assured that on the morning of January 13 the city was still in the possession of Ukrainian forces, according to the same media.

Russian troops have been trying to take over Soledar for the past two weeks in order to control a strategic city to enter the Donetsk region.