Russia has taken control of most of a town called Soledar after intense fighting in the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. Reuters and the UK Ministry of Defense say the city has been under a month-long battle for control, but in the past four days Russian forces and fighters from their backer Wagner group have taken new positions.
Most of the city is “probably” under Russian control – says the UK Ministry of Defence. The salt-mining town of Soledar, a town of about 10,000 people, is a few kilometers southwest of Bakhmut and, if captured by Russian forces, would put them in an advantageous position in the battle for control of Bakhmut.
Apart from that, the victory of Soledar will be good news for the Russian forces after they have suffered in several battles recently.
A US Defense Department official also said on Monday that a large part of the city of Soledad is now under Russian control.
Bakhmut also saw intense fighting and both Russian and Ukrainian forces suffered heavy losses. It is said to be the most intense ‘trench warfare’ since Russia invaded Ukraine 11 months ago.
British intelligence briefings suggest that Russia may be trying to encircle Bakhmut from the north and disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication by taking Soledar.
Yuriy Butusov, a journalist with Ukrainian forces in Soledar, said that Russian forces had established control over the Ukrainian logistics route in the city of Soledar, making normal movement of the route – which is essential for defense – impossible.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his late-night video speech on Monday that Ukraine retained control of Bakhmut and Soledor despite widespread destruction.
He said that Solder now has ‘almost no living creatures’ and not a single wall standing, and that “the ground of Solder is covered with the corpses of Russian soldiers.”
