Wagner executive reports ‘very tough and bloody fighting’ in Soledar
Fierce fighting is underway in the suburbs of Soledar, a town in eastern Ukraine close to that of Bakhmout, the hottest point on the front. “Let’s be honest (…). The Ukrainian army bravely fights for Bakhmout and Soledar. Very tough and bloody fighting is going on in the western suburb of Soledar”reported Evgueni Prigojine, boss of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, quoted on Telegram by its press office.
The town of Soledar, located about ten kilometers northeast of Bakhmout, is close to Bakhmoutske, a village which the pro-Russian separatists claimed to have conquered. Denis Pushilin, the leader of the separatists in the Donetsk region, whose annexation Moscow claims, told Russian television on Tuesday that Soledar was “very close to release”.
Wagner’s troops play a leading role in the battle for Bakhmout, a city of questionable strategic importance but which has taken on strong symbolic value, as both sides have fought for its control for months. On Monday, Yevgeny Prigojine claimed that the assault on Soledar was “exclusively” led by members of his organization.
The British Ministry of Defense confirmed on Tuesday that the Russian army and Wagner’s units had made “tactical advances” in Soledar for the past four days and were looking for “most likely to encircle Bakhmout from the north” and “to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication”. According to this source, part of the fighting is to control the entrance to an old salt mine in Soledar, as its tunnels pass under the front line and could be used to “to infiltrate behind enemy lines”.
“I thank all our soldiers who protect Bakhmout (…) and the fighters in Soledar, who are resisting new and even more violent assaults from the invaders”greeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily message on Monday.