The boss of the feared Russian Wagner mercenary group has gloated to Ukraine by posing in a salt mine in a key battleground.

However, the claim prompted the Russian army to issue a statement saying fighting for the town is still on-going, thus denying Prigozhin's brazen claim.

The unusual contradiction from Moscow raises questions over whether the Russian president has lost control of the Wagner warlord and his men, amid suggestions that Kremlin officials are growing dissatisfied with Putin's leadership.

Kyiv said its forces are still holding out while Russia said 'urban battles' are still being fought in the town whose capture would represent a major victory for Moscow after a series of humiliating setbacks in recent months.

'Assault squads are fighting in the city,' the Russian army said in a statement. It added that its forces 'blocked Soledar from the northern and southern areas of the city' and that its air force was striking 'enemy strongholds.'

Found in the Donetsk region, Soledar lies nine miles from the city of Bakhmut, which Russia has been trying to seize for months, and its capture is reported to have been made a key objective for the Kremlin. 

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