Ukrainian troopers on their positions within the frontline close to Soledar, Donetsk area, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023.

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Ukrainian troopers on their positions within the frontline close to Soledar, Donetsk area, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023.

LIBKOS/AP

KYIV — After months of combating, Russia’s ministry of protection claims it has captured the japanese Ukrainian city of Soledar — a declare that Ukrainian navy officers deny.

If taken, the salt-mining city could be a uncommon navy victory for Russia in its Ukraine struggle.

A spokesperson for the Ukrainian navy, Serhiy Cherevaty, says that Russia’s statements “do not correspond to reality. Battles are going on in Soledar.”

Amid days of intense combating, there have been conflicting statements on who managed Soledar. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founding father of the Russian mercenary power the Wagner Group, claimed his males had seized the city as early as Tuesday, whereas nonetheless acknowledging a “cauldron” of combating persevered.

Russia’s seize of Soledar “is and isn’t significant,” explains Karolina Hird, a Russia analyst on the Institute for the Study of War. “Russian forces, throughout the course of this war, have struggled to make operationally significant gains to such a degree that when they do start making these tactical, small-scale block-by-block advances, those stand out.”

Control of Soledar might permit Russia to chop off Ukrainian provide strains to close by Bakhmut, one other fiercely contested metropolis seen as central to Russia’s struggling efforts to regulate japanese Ukraine. While reaching Bahkmut could also be Russia’s objective, navy consultants say the autumn of Soledar does not assure Bakhmut will likely be encircled and does not signify an enormous turning level for the Russian navy.

And the query stays whether or not minor tactical advances are price the fee.

“The Ukrainians have very, very successfully pinned Russian forces up against Soledar and Bakhmut for six months,” says Hird, “and used this to basically just continue pulling Russian troops, Russian equipment, to this area and basically burning through it.”

While not an necessary navy goal, Bahkmut is related to a number of freeway methods, a crucial floor line of communication and transportation for the Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy lately visited Bahkmut, simply earlier than his journey to Washington and speech to the U.S. Congress, the place he introduced representatives with a battle-torn Ukrainian flag signed by forces there.

“Hold Bakmut” has develop into a rallying cry throughout Ukraine. In his nightly tackle Monday, Zelenskyy said that the fighting within the space has purchased Ukraine extra time and navy energy.

“Bakhmut is more about politics rather than war,” says Oleh Zhdanov, a Ukrainian navy skilled. “From the military perspective, Bakhmut doesn’t have operational or strategic significance. But the Russian Federation can turn this into an enormous wave of propaganda.”

NPR’s Charles Maynes contributed to this report from Moscow.