The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation did not establish control of Soledar and Bakhmut - the White House
According to him, the US intelligence continues to monitor the situation in eastern Ukraine, in particular, the fighting in the Bakhmut direction. On the morning of January 18, according to John Kirby, the control of Russian troops over Soledar remains controversial. In addition, American intelligence is doubting the success of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the Bakhmut area.
"I will tell you that this morning we do not evaluate that the Russians have actually seized both cities unilaterally," the representative of the White House National Security Council continued. John Kirby separately acknowledged that in recent days the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have developed gradual progress, but Moscow had to pay for that too high price.
The invaders actually "throw" the bodies of their fighters positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and offensive operations in the Bakhmut direction are carried out with the participation of "Wagner Group" and some units of the regular army. Separately, John Kirby commented on the strategy, which is adhered to by the head of the "Wagner" Yevgeny Prigogin.
According to the White House Representative, Putin's Cook wants to be considered indispensable on the battlefield, which is why tension remains between the command of the Russian Federation and the Wagner group. Two days earlier, the Armed Forces spoke about the situation in the frontline Soledar.
The speaker of the command of the eastern group of troops Sergey Cherevaty argued that the forces of Ukraine's defense continue to keep defense in the area of the settlement, continuously striking in the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In its report on January 18, the UK Ministry of Defense Ministry assigned that the Armed Forces could withdraw from Soledar for the sake of preserving personnel and to equip new defensive positions west of the settlement.