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In Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region – the centerpiece of Russia’s campaign to annex more territory – Ukrainian forces were fighting around the small salt-mining town of Soledar.
Serhiy Cherevtyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, told Ukrainian television that Russian forces had shelled the area around Soledar and Bakhmut 234 times over the past 24 hours.
Russia said on Friday that its forces had taken control of Soledar, which had a pre-war population of 10,000, in what would be a modest gain but one of psychological importance for Russian forces, which have seen months of battlefield setbacks.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar maintained Kyiv’s position that the battle for Soledar was not over.
In comments on his Telegram channel on Sunday, he said that the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had reported repelling Russian attacks at a number of locations, including locations near Soledar and Bakhmut, but that there had been shelling in the same two locations and elsewhere. was being done.
“Simply put the fight is on,” she said. “Everything else is unverified information, unauthorized and without knowledge of the general picture on the front,” he said.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said it was highly unlikely that Ukrainian forces still held positions within Soledar.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the situation in the town.
Putin said what he called a special military operation was showing a positive trend and he hoped Russian troops would gain more after Soledar.
“The dynamic is positive,” he told Rossiya 1 state television. “Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff.”