The state of affairs at the meat grinder Bachmut and Soledar Bolsonaro have been released from the hospital in Florida after “severe stomach pains”.

Hardly anyone on social media will have missed Bachmut. The images of the destroyed houses and fields littered with corpses go around the world. The nearby town of Soledar is also the center of the battles. What exactly is going on there?

According to reports, fighting continues around the city of Bakhmut. For example, on January 8 and 9, Russian forces stepped up their efforts to capture Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). As “Putin’s cook”, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin pointed out, the city has high strategic value for him and the Russian military due to its extensive underground tunnel system. British intelligence said in a statement today that the tunnels could be used by either side for infiltration behind enemy lines.

Meanwhile, Soledar, in the north of Bakhmut, will soon be “completely surrounded”, according to Russian mild-mannered bloggers. They are based on statements made by Prigozhin, who increasingly comments on what is happening around Bakhmut himself, highlighting the successes of his mercenary group. According to experts, he wants to portray the Wagner group as the only efficient force at the front. Not without reason: senior officials of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense have described the situation in Soledar as “extremely difficult”. The ISW also confirms that Prigozhin’s troops are making small but significant advances in and around the town.

Soledar is also part of the huge underground complex. The town is home to a show mine, which is likely to be used for military purposes as well.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian attacks on Bakhmut and two other villages to the south had been repelled. In fact, the fighting is concentrated not only in the towns of Bakhmut and Soledar, but also in smaller settlements and communities along the north-south front. Russian Milbloggers say the small village of Opitne south of Bakhmut has been taken.

While the battle continues on the pitch and in the homes, the battle over social media continues. Both sides publish videos showing how exhausted the others are and how close they are to a breakthrough. The propaganda should not be entirely unrealistic – the battle for Bachmut is extremely tough, both sides are exhausted. A group of alleged Ukrainian soldiers can be seen on video addressing Volodymyr Zelenskyy:

As things stand, the status quo is unlikely to change anytime soon. The two forces continue to mesh around Bachmut, even if the signs are currently more on Russia’s side. However, the British secret service does not assume that Bakhmut will soon be captured by the Russians. The Ukrainian defense is too well built for that. However, time will tell if they can withstand Russian pressure in the long run. What is clear is that it is bloody and will remain bloody.