러 바그너 용병그룹, 솔레다르 점령 주장 우크라, "아직 격렬한 전투 중"
Over in Ukraine, there are conflicting claims regarding who has control of the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar.
Russia claims it has won control of the salt-mining town, while Kyiv says its forces are holding out.
Lee Shi-hoo has the latest.
Russia's mercenary Wagner Group claims it gained control over the town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, while Kyiv says its soldiers are holding out.
Russian media reported a statement late on Tuesday purported to be by Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Wagner Group and an ally of Russian President Putin.
The statement claimed that "Wagner units took control of the entire territory of Soledar".
However, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar has said that "heavy fighting is continuing".
While the claims by both sides have not been independently verified, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said that the town is likely to now be under the control of the Wagner Group.
Control over the small salt-mining town in the Donetsk region could help Russian troops take over the nearby strategic city of Bakhmut.
Meanwhile a U.S. Department of Defense official announced on Tuesday that Ukrainian soldiers will come to the U.S. for training on the Patriot missile system.
The training, to begin as soon as next week and last several months, would prepare around 90 to 100 soldiers to effectively use the system when it's delivered.
This comes weeks after the Pentagon said that it would send one Patriot air defense battery and associated munitions to Ukraine.
The Pentagon said that Patriot will help the Ukrainians stand up to Russian aerial bombardment, which has increased in the past few months.
On Tuesday, NATO and the EU agreed to strengthen their support for Ukraine.
That's at the signing of the third Joint Declaration on NATO-European Union cooperation.
"Russia's war against Ukraine has had two unintended consequences: it has strengthened both our organizations -the EU and NATO -and it has brought us closer together."
The two organizations vowed to take their partnership to the next level to address issues around the world.
Lee Shi-hoo, Arirang News.
#Ukraine #Russia #Arirang_News
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2023-01-11, 21:00 (KST)
