- Drone footage shows Ukrainian troops destroying a unit of Wagner fighters in Soledar.
- The footage comes from the Donetsk region, the scene of some of the fiercest battles of the war.
- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy painted a gloomy picture of the situation in the city.
Drone footage posted on Telegram by the State Border Service of Ukraine shows the Ukrainian army winning a firefight against the infamous Wagner group.
Wagner’s group is a private army with close ties to the Kremlin that has been at the forefront of the fierce battle for Soledar in eastern Ukraine. It recruited many of its fighters from the Russian prison system.
The video shows the soldiers — identified by the State Border Service of Ukraine as fighters of the Wagner group — being monitored by a drone.
The soldiers then came under fire from Ukrainian fighters using large-caliber machine guns, resulting in numerous injuries, according to the Border Force.
The video ends after a series of Ukrainian artillery shells explode among the Russian troops, and the troops appear to be lying motionless on the ground.
—Illia Ponomarenko 🇺🇦 (@IAPonomarenko) January 11, 2023
The State Border Service of Ukraine described the events in a post on Telegram.
“In Soledar, we have an explosive encounter with the Wagnerians. At the beginning of January, the border guards together with the units of one of the mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine restrained the enemy offensive. Our aerial reconnaissance discovered a group of enemy infantry.
Approaching the positions of our defenders, the Wagners found themselves under favorable crossfire. Large-caliber machine guns inflicted losses on the enemy. The defeat of the occupiers on this line was completed by a well-hit artillery strike, which was corrected by the border ‘bird’. Effective aerial reconnaissance is the key to success on the battlefield.”
Insider was unable to independently verify the footage.
Fighting in the salt mine town of Soledar, in the Donetsk region, has recently intensified, with Russian troops — including Wagner’s group — making tactical advances and now controlling most of the settlement, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
—Ministry of Defense 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) January 10, 2023
Moscow announced on Friday that it had finally captured Soledar. But Ukrainian officials disputed the claim, calling it “information noise,” the BBC reported.
Speaking during his overnight address from Kyiv on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “The tough battle for the Donetsk region continues, the battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna, for other towns and villages in the east of our country.
“Although the enemy has concentrated its largest forces in this direction, our troops – the Armed Forces of Ukraine, all defense and security forces – are defending the country.”