Ukraine currently contains a "high intensity" Russian offensive in Soledar, Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said Friday morning, despite "a hot night" in this small town in the east of the country.
"The enemy has thrown almost all of its main forces in the direction of (the) Donetsk region and is maintaining a high-intensity offensive," Ganna Maliar said on Telegram.
"The night was hot, the fighting continued," she added.
According to her, "this is a difficult phase of the war, but we will win it", she promised.
"Our fighters are bravely trying to hold our defence," she said.
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Fighting in and around Soledar has been raging for several months, but its intensity has increased sharply in recent days, with the Ukrainian army fighting in this small town known for its salt mines the mercenaries of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner.
On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had promised to provide "everything necessary" to his army which is resisting Russian assaults in Soledar but also in Bakhmout, the large eastern city that the Russians have been trying to conquer tirelessly since the summer of 2022. .
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War in Ukraine: in Soledar "the intensity of the bombardments has increased by 70%"
The situation in Soledar has been “difficult” for the Ukrainian army for a few days and “the fiercest and most violent fighting continues today”, Deputy Minister of Defense Ganna Maliar had indicated earlier.
Formerly known for its salt mines, Soledar is indeed located 15 km northeast of the city of Bakhmout that Russian forces have been trying to take for months.