After months of fighting with Ukrainian forces, it is “probable” that Russia will finally control the majority of the salt-mining town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, according to the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
The UK reports that Russian troops and the mercenary Wagner Group had made advances over the past four days.
Soledar is located close to Bakhmut, where Ukraine is also engaged in a brutal conflict.
President Zelensky stated that there was “almost no life” in Soledar and that “no complete walls remained.”
He further stated that “the entire area surrounding Soledar is covered with the bodies of the occupants.”
“This is the appearance of insanity,” he continued.
Before the conflict, Soledar’s population was approximately 10,000, and its strategic relevance is dubious.
However, a US official stated last week that Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin desires control of the region’s massive salt and gypsum mines.
Part of the combat, according to the United Kingdom, was concentrated on the entrances to the 200-kilometer-long abandoned tunnels. And both Russia and Ukraine “are presumably concerned that they could be exploited for infiltration behind their lines.”
Mr. Prigozhin has confirmed his interest in the mines, describing them. As “the cherry on top” of the strategic significance of the Bakhmut region.
He referred to them as a “network of underground cities” that can accommodate “a large number of people at a depth of 80 to 100 meters”. And allow tanks and other military equipment to travel freely.
However, Britain feels it is “unlikely” that Russia will instantly seize Bakhmut due to Ukraine’s “strong defense lines.”
In the meantime, a senior military official from the US Department of Defense stated on Monday that Russia controls a “substantial section” of Soledar.
The conflict around Bakhmut has lasted for months, and the US official described the most recent exchanges as “brutal.”
Two British nationals have been reported missing in the region, with their last known location being Soledar.
In his evening address, the leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, thanked the soldiers defending Soledar. Stating that their tenacity “earned additional time and additional strength for Ukraine.”
American think tank
According to a Facebook post by the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Soldiers repelled strikes near 13 populated areas on Monday, including Soledar and Bakhmut.
Oleh Zhdanov, a highly regarded military analyst in Ukraine, feels that neither Soledar nor Bakhmut are operationally significant despite the lengthy and severe battle.
In an interview with the Ukrainian newspaper Gazeta published on Monday. Mr. Zhdanov stated that Russia is “attempting to prove to the entire world that its force is capable of victory.”
Since it invaded Ukraine about a year ago, Russia has experienced significant defeats. Including the loss of authority of the only regional capital it had captured.
The Institute for the Study of War, an American think tank, has stated that Mr. Prigozhin “will continue to use both confirmed. And faked Wagner Group victories in Soledar and Bakhmut to present the Wagner Group as the sole Russian force in Ukraine capable of achieving substantial advances.”
