---
title: "Russia’s Wagner Group claims ‘liberation’ of Soledar, says about 500 Ukrainians killed"
description: "Jan 11 (Reuters) — The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner on Wednesday said his forces had achieved the complete ‘liberation’ of the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar, killing around 500 pro-Ukraine troops."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "BATTLE FOR SOLEDAR"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2023-01-12-russias-wagner-group-claims-liberation-of-soledar-says-about-500-ukrainians-killed/"
published: "2023-01-12T04:00:27"
updated: "2023-01-12T01:04:33"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 114
---

# Russia’s Wagner Group claims ‘liberation’ of Soledar, says about 500 Ukrainians killed

> Jan 11 (Reuters) — The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner on Wednesday said his forces had achieved the complete ‘liberation’ of the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar, killing around 500 pro-Ukraine troops.

By Reuters · Published 12 January 2023, 06:00 SAST · Updated 12 January 2023, 03:04 SAST

## Content

Minutes before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had mocked earlier Russian claims that it controlled part of the town and said fighting continued.

Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin on Tuesday announced his forces had control over Soledar, but said battles were still raging in the city centre. On Wednesday, he made no mention of continuing clashes.

“I want to confirm the complete liberation and cleansing of the territory of Soledar from units of the Ukrainian army... Ukrainian units that did not want to surrender were destroyed,” he said in a statement.

Wagner forces “killed about 500 people. The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers.”

*(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)*