Soledar: Five things to know about Ukraine’s latest hotbed of war

Battle for the city solderin eastern Ukraine, one of the bloodiest Russian offensives since the start, fully exploited for victory after several setbacks.

Russia has assured that the fate of the city of Soledar has been sealed, although it acknowledged that several hundred Ukrainian soldiers are still resisting in the center of this city, which has been practically reduced to rubble after months of bombing.

For its part, the Kiev military command denies that the city, considered one of the bastions of the Ukrainian defensive lines in this sector of the Donbass front, has come under control Russia.

Here are five facts about this latest battle that is in the spotlight in this new phase of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

salt mines

Before the conflict solder It was a small town of about 10,000 people famous for its salt mines, the largest in Europe. Its name just means “gift of salt” in Ukrainian and Russian.

Located in the Donetsk region, which Moscow claims has annexed, Soledar is about 15km northeast of Bakhmut, a major city that the Russians have been trying to capture for months.

Beneath the salt galleries there are 200 kilometers of underground galleries, which can represent a tactical advantage in times of war.

“Bloody” fight

Russia D Ukraine They agree that the fighting in Soledar is going particularly hard.

“Everything that happens today in Bakhmut or solder This is the bloodiest scene of this war,” Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview with AFP on Wednesday.

“A lot of blood, a lot of artillery duels, a lot of close combat, especially today in solder”, he claimed.

Even the Kremlin, usually reticent when it comes to casualties, admitted that the Russians had paid a “rather high price” for the advance on Soledar.

Russian mercenaries

Bakhmut battle, in which the struggle for solder This is another chapter, it is released from the Russian side mainly by mercenaries of the Wagnerian paramilitary group, led by businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin close to the Kremlin.

Attack on solder According to Prigozhin, this is the “exceptional” work of the Wagner men, who, according to some analysts, are seeking to strengthen their political status in Russia won military victories in Ukraine.

In recent months, Prigozhin has visited Russian prisons to recruit prisoners, promising high wages and amnesty after a period of fighting.

Military analyst Anatoly Khramchizhin argues that Wagner’s role in Ukraine is “quite important” and that the group has “a number of important advantages” over the Russian regular army: “better training and at the same time less formalities and less bureaucracy.”

Another military analyst, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said the role of mercenaries in Ukraine, although “important”, is not “decisive”.

Rivalry

Beyond the purely military, battles for control of solder and Bakhmut highlighted the bitter rivalry that many analysts believe exists between Wagner and the Russian regular army.

On Wednesday, Prigozhin announced that his group controlled Soledar, but the Russian Ministry of Defense later denied this information. Even the Kremlin asked “not to hurry” with the victory.

For Dzhramchizhin, it is “obvious” that Wagner and the Ministry of Defense are competing in Ukraineaccording to the forces and means available to the paramilitary organization.

Another analyst Vasily Kashin believes that both sides are “cooperating”, despite the rivalry.

“They cannot do something independently of each other, they are part of the same force,” he emphasizes.

resume victories

While analysts disagree on the strategic importance solderno one doubts that, should the case arise, the Russian authorities will seize the opportunity to claim an important victory after suffering infamous setbacks.

For months now, Russian troops have been trying to capture Bakhmut, sending in waves of soldiers and ruthlessly shelling the Ukrainian city with their artillery.

“Each victory is important, especially since there have been no victories for a long time,” Khramchizhin said. “Strategically (capturing Soledar) could ease the situation in Bakhmut,” he adds.

The analyst, who requested anonymity, believes that decision-making solder it would be a “tactical victory with little strategic value” that would have “little effect on the overall situation” of the offensive.