"According to the latest information, the center of Soledar is under the control of the Wagner division, and here the guys have gained ground on one side and the other. They are already effectively moving forward," Pushilin told Channel One.
Pushilin noted Ukrainian troops are suffering serious losses but have continued to resist.
The Wagner Group private military company (PMC), participating in Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, has taken the entire territory of Soledar under control, with hostilities taking place in the center of the city, the company’s head, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on Wednesday.
"Units of the Wagner PMC have taken control of the entire territory of Soledar. A fighting cauldron has been formed in the center of the city, where urban battles are taking place. The number of prisoners will be specified tomorrow. I would like to emphasize once again that no units other than those of the Wagner PMC were involved in the storming of Soledar," Prigozhin said on Russian social network VKontakte.
Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's office, said on Wednesday that Ukraine's forces are fleeing the frontline in the city.
"We have units that are fleeing Soledar, were and are fleeing," Arestovich said in an appearance on the YouTube channel of journalist Mark Feigin (recognized as foreign agent media by Russia's Justice Ministry), adding that "enemy forces" take their place after squadrons flee.
Soledar and Bakhmut, also known as Artyomovsk, are located in the Kiev-controlled part of the DPR, which joined Russia last fall after the populace there held a referendum. Bakhmut has been an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian troops in Donbas amid Russia's special military operation.
The latest comes after Donetsk officials stated on Monday that Russian forces had managed to successfully take control of the Bakhmutskoe village, which sits near Soledar. The area is known as an important transport hub for supplying Ukrainian troops stationed in Donbass.