Russian Defense Minister Serhii Shoigu attributes non-existent victories in the Donetsk region to himself and intensifies the conflict with the "Wagner" PMC, deliberately not their participation in the war against Ukraine. This was reported by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense.

 Thus, the department mentions the publication of the Russian propaganda agency "Tass" that the Minister of Defense of Russia Serhii Shoigu stated at a conference call about the alleged "complete control by the occupying army over the settlements of Soledar, Klishcheivka, Krasnopillya, Blagodatne, Mykolaivka, Donetsk Lobkove Zaporizhzhya" He also mentioned the "successful" development of hostilities under Bakhmut and Vugledar, emphasized that all the mentioned "achievements" are the result of actions in Russia.

 At the same time, Shoigu deliberately did not mention the fact that the forces of the private military company "Wagner" were actively involved in all the indicated areas for the conduct of hostilities. Instead, the regular Russian army plays only an episodic role of support forces. This information is suppressed by the Russian propaganda media, which indicates the continuation of the conflict among the military and political leadership of Russia.

 The GUR also noted that Ukrainian troops withdrew from the city of Soledar on January 25, which was officially reported by the command of the Armed Forces. As for other settlements, their capture by the enemy is currently not confirmed.

 Ukrainian Defense Forces continue protection in each of the mentioned areas.

 The conflict between the founder of the "Wagner" PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Minister of Defense of Russia Sergei Shoigu began a year ago. In particular, both of them deliberately shift the responsibility to each other for failures at the front.

 The representative of the Eastern group of troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Serhii Chereviy reported in December that the Minister of Defense of Russia Serhiy Shoigu sent his "Patriot" anti-tank missile, which competes with the Wagner units, to Vugledar.