Amid Russian-Ukraine war, 559 civilians trapped in Soledar, says Donetsk governor

Hundreds of civilians have been reported to be trapped in Soledar, said Ukraine authorities, reported the Guardian. The bloody war between the two nations has been continuing for almost ten months now. The war has been moved to Soledar and has largely destroyed a salt mining town in eastern Ukraine.

559 civilians remained in Soledar, including 15 children, and could not be evacuated, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk, reported the guardian citing a local media report. Ukrainian troops have been fiercely fighting and continued to hold their position Soledar.

Fierce battle in Soledar 

“Fighting is fierce in the Soledar direction. (The Russians)are moving over their own corpses,” said Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, while talking about the current war situation in Ukraine's Soledar, reported The Guardian. Further, she added, " Russia is driving its own people to the slaughter by the thousands, but we are holding on.”

However, the Russian mercenary group Wagner claimed that its forces had taken control of the town (Soledar) on Wednesday. the Wagner mercenary group had successfully captured Soledar after intense fighting, and the town was “littered with Ukrainian servicemen”, said Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian mercenary group. 

On the other hand, the Russian authorities have declined to declare victory in Soledar. "Let’s not rush, let’s wait for official statements. There is a positive dynamic in progress," said Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson, while sharing updates on the war situation, reported Guardian. 

The desperation of the Russian soldiers to win over the Soledar region has increased and also that it would be a major win for the  Russian mercenary group Wagner, Dr. Marina Miron of the Center for Military Ethics at King's College London, reported Newsweek. " On the one hand, this victory would reinforce his position; on the other, it would boost the morale of the Russian troops after a series of setbacks and territorial losses,"  Miron added. 

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson has plans to visit Ukraine and meet  President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the coming months, as per the Guardian reports. Former Prime minister Johnson has shared with his friends that he has an "intention" to visit the war tone area. Further, he has been strongly supporting Ukraine and helped to rally international allies to get behind the country in the early days of the war.