Ukraine has denied claims from the Russian mercenary Wagner group that its forces have taken control of the eastern mining town of Soledar, saying that the fierce fighting in the area was akin to the Second World War.
The battle for control of Soledar – and the nearby city of Bakhmut – has been raging for weeks, with Russia's defence ministry saying that airborne units had now surrounded the town from the north and south.
"The town is not under the control of the Russian Federation. There are fierce battles going on now," Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s eastern military command, said. "There is a complicated situation there."
“The intensity of battles near Bakhmut can be compared with World War Two,” Mr Cherevatyi added. Control of Soledar and Bakhmut would give Russian forces a route into other areas of eastern Ukraine.
Earlier, the head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that his forces had a grip on Soledar. "Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar. A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on," Mr Prigozhin said, in a statement cited by Russian state news agencies.
Elsewhere, a huge fire raged at a fireworks factory in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, after it was hit by a Russian strike late on Tuesday, according to local authorities.
