The situation in Soledar. Battle of Prigozhin and the Ministry of Defense
On January 13, in the afternoon, the Russian Ministry of Defense officially announced the capture of Soledar due to "constant fire destruction of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile troops and artillery of a group of Russian troops." Three days ago, the owner of PMC Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed that the city was taken, and his fighters did it exclusively on their own. Then the Ministry of Defense objected that it was too early to talk about the capture and that not only Wagnerites, but also paratroopers participated in the assault.
On the afternoon of January 13, Prigozhin said that they were trying to steal victory from the Wagnerites and belittle their merits in the war in Ukraine. After that, in the evening, the Ministry of Defense issued a separate clarifying statement, in which it reported on the “courageous actions” of the Wagner PMC fighters who stormed Soledar:
“In connection with media appeals regarding the composition and participation of various units of the Russian grouping of troops (forces) in the liberation of the Soledar city of the Donetsk People’s Republic from the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, we consider it necessary to clarify the following:
Offensive operations in this tactical direction, which ended with the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the capture of the city of Soledar, were carried out by a heterogeneous grouping of Russian troops (forces) according to a single plan and plan, which provided for the solution of a complex of combat missions.
These combat missions included, as already reported, blocking the city from the north and south, isolating the combat area, preventing the enemy from transferring reserves to the city from neighboring areas and preventing the exit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Soledar, as well as fire support for the attack by ground attack aircraft and artillery.
As for the direct assault on the city blocks of Soledar occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, this combat mission was successfully solved by the courageous and selfless actions of the volunteers of the Wagner PMC assault detachments.
This is the first official recognition of the merits of PMC Wagner by the Ministry of Defense. In Russia, private military companies are prohibited by law. Back in the spring, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that there were no Wagnerites in Ukraine, and the Kiev regime needed talk about this to divert attention from Western mercenaries. The Ministry of Defense is in constant conflict with Prigozhin, the latter has repeatedly criticized the leadership of the department, accusing him of attributing the military successes of the Wagnerites to himself.
At the same time, the evening summary of the General Staff of Ukraine states that the battles for Soledar continue. This is confirmed by military expert Chuck Pfaffer. According to him, the Wagner PMC has expanded control over residential and industrial areas of the city, while Ukrainian forces have focused their efforts on protecting several key locations, in particular, near a school, a hospital and access to mines 1 and 7.
Captain of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Taras Berezovets said in an interview with CNN that now the task of the military remaining on the outskirts of Soledar is to destroy as many Wagnerites as possible. According to him, the paratroopers of the 77th and 46th brigades are still on the western outskirts of the city. Berezovets notes that it made no military sense to stay in the city. “[Soledar] is completely destroyed. There is not a single building that has survived Russian shelling,” he said.
CNN journalists watched the retreat of Ukrainian troops from Soledar. “The film crew, located about 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) from Soledar, witnessed Ukrainian forces ferrying troops Friday afternoon in what appeared to be an organized retreat from the city,” the report says .
The Institute for the Study of War notes in its daily brief that the capture of Soledar – a settlement of about 14.2 km² – will not allow Russian forces to gain control over critical Ukrainian lines of ground communication with Bakhmut and will not put them in a better position to encircle the city in the short term. perspective.
General situation at the front
The morning report of the General Staff of Ukraine states that attacks by Russian troops in the areas of the settlements of Stelmakhivka , Makeyevka and Belogorovka of the Luhansk region and Disputed , Razdolovka , Salt , Krasnaya Gora , Podgorodnoye , Bakhmut , Kleshchievka , Predtechino , Kurdyumovka , Vodyanoye , Nevelskoye , Krasnogorovka , Marinka and Velyka Novoselka in Donetsk Oblast . Predtechino is a village near the northeastern outskirts of Konstantinovka and near the Konstantinovka-Bakhmut highway. “No signs of the formation of offensive enemy groupings were found in the Volyn, Polessky, Seversky and Slobozhansky directions,” the report says.
Shelling of Ukraine
The cities of Konstantinovka , Kramatorsk and Zaporozhye were hit by five missile strikes, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. Settlements were also shelled along the entire front line, including Kherson and its suburbs, Vuhledar and Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast . It is reported that the Ukrainian aviation "delivered nine strikes on the areas of concentration of Russians."
Undermining the car of the head of the Berdyansk OA
In Berdyansk, the car of the head of the CAA of the Berdyansk region , Alexei Kichigin , was blown up. The explosion took place at 19:30 local time. It is reported that Kichigin was not injured, because he noticed a suspicious object on the bottom of the car in time. “The failed inhuman action carried out against a civilian official who has nothing to do with military affairs will in no way affect the work of the military-civilian administration of the Berdyansk region,” the occupation administration’s Telegram channel said.
Arms deliveries
- France has decided on the timing of the supply of AMX-10RC armored vehicles to Ukraine. The French Ministry of Defense announced that the delivery would be arranged within two months. It is also planned to conduct training courses for Ukrainian military personnel on how to operate these machines.
- According to The Guardian, the UK government on Monday will officially announce the decision to transfer Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine.
- Israel officially transfers missile and drone attack warning technologies to Kiev. “Work continues on the transfer of Israeli technologies related to intelligent missile and drone warning. That is, this technology is officially transferred by the Israeli side. And I think that after some time we will receive it in full, ” said Yevhen Korniychuk, Ambassador of Ukraine to Israel.
- Berlin will decide next week whether to supply Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Germany is likely to agree to send tanks to Kiev, according to two Bloomberg sources familiar with the government's position.
- The Italian authorities decided to transfer the SAMP-T SAM battery to Ukraine.
- 225 Ukrainian servicemen arrived in Spain to be trained by Spanish instructors. Most of them are recruits with no military experience, and 20 anti-aircraft gunners will undergo additional training on the HAWK air defense system.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military 59 OMPBR them. Yakov Gandzyuk showed homemade self-propelled guns:
Attitude towards the Wagnerites in Russia and in the world
In Russia , opened the first memorial plaque to a prisoner recruited by PMC Wagner for the war in Ukraine. He was convicted of murder and illegal possession of weapons, according to the BBC. A memorial plaque was installed on the facade of a school in Saratov. Earlier in the Urals, a Wagnerian was solemnly buried, who beat his mother to death.
Meanwhile, State Department adviser Derek Cholle said the US is working to put an end to Wagner PMC activities around the world. According to him, the US is concerned that militants are recruiting new people in Serbia and other countries. He voiced this during negotiations with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and called on him to join the sanctions against Wagner PMCs. Earlier, Politico wrote that Wagner PMC is increasing its activity in the Central African Republic, Mali and Serbia.
Meanwhile, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Russian propagandists received manuals where they are required to emphasize the positive role of Shoigu and Gerasimov in every possible way, and it is forbidden to talk about Wagner PMCs in a positive way and it is recommended to indicate that mercenaries suffer heavy losses in senseless attacks.
Read also the military summary of The Insider for January 12: Wagnerites are reporting from kindergarten, the Ministry of Defense is silent about Soledar and Bakhmut. What's Happening on the Front Line .
