KYIV, Jan 9 (AFP) - Ukraine says it is strengthening its forces around Bakhmut in the eastern Donbas region and repelling constant attacks there by the Russian mercenary group Wagner.

Kyiv has sent reinforcements to Soledar, a small town near Bakhmut where the situation was particularly difficult, Ukrainian officials said on Monday.

“The enemy again made a desperate attempt to storm the city of Soledar from different directions and threw the most professional units of the Wagnerites into battle,” Ukraine’s military said in a statement.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner’s founder, has been trying to capture Bakhmut and Soledar for months at the cost of many lives on both sides. He said on Saturday that its significance lay in the network of mines there.

“It not only [has the ability to hold] a big group of people at a depth of 80 to 100 metres, but tanks and infantry fighting vehicles can also move about,” Prigozhin said.

Military analysts said the strategic military benefit for Moscow would be limited. A US official has said Prigozhin, a powerful ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, wants the salt and gypsum from the mines.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video remarks on Sunday that Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction after months of attacks.

“Our soldiers are repelling constant Russian attempts to advance,” he said. In Soledar, “things are very difficult.”