Two days after only normal Russian forces claimed the attack. Soldar city in eastern Ukraineon friday The Russian Defense Ministry credited the private military company Wagner with spearheading the direct attack.
in Statement on Telegram official channelsthe Ministry of Defense said The “offensive operation” was carried out by the “union of different Russian troops according to one plan”, and Wagner led the “offensive operation”. “direct attack”
Some background goes back and forth: Russian forces, most responsible for the attack on Soledar, have been the subject of much debate in recent days.
Wednesday’s Pentagon statement made no mention of Wagner, saying “Air Forces are blocking Soledar from the northern and southern parts of the city.”
Wagner’s boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, released a statement on Monday claiming that “Soledar was seized only by Wagner PMC units.” On Thursday, the Wagner Telegram channel released a video purporting to show members of the Russian Air Force. It said they did not participate in the Battle of Soledar and that “the attack on Soledar was carried out solely by PMC Wagner forces.”
Sergey Markov, a pro-Kremlin Russian military blogger, commented: by telegram on Friday that “Public feuds and insults between the leadership of the Ministry of Defense and PMC Wagner” damaged Russia and “Must Stop Immediately”
Friday’s Pentagon statement appeared to be a retaliatory effort.
“The offensive operation in this tactical direction, which ended in the defeat of the Ukrainian army and the capture of Soledar, was carried out by grouping different Russian troops according to a single plan, which provided for the solution of the problem of complex combat missions,” according to the statement.
“For a direct attack on the city block of Soledar occupied by the Ukrainian army. This combat mission was solved by the heroic and selfless actions of volunteers of the Wagner Assault Squad,” it added.
on the Ukrainian sidehigh-ranking Ukrainian officials on Friday nature Power struggles between factions of Russia as “The sign of the beginning of a dramatic end,” the officials said. refuse Russia claims that Moscow’s forces have taken Soledar.
