Russia says it has captured the eastern town of Soledar

Russia's Defence Ministry said Friday that its forces have captured the salt-mining town of Soledar. The ministry said Friday that Soledar, the focus of a bloody battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces, was captured on Thursday night.

There was no immediate confirmation from Ukrainian authorities to Russia's claim to have seized the town in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk province, one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has illegally annexed.

Soledar's fall would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after a series of battlefield setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine.