Why Soledar Could Snap Ukraine’s Neck The Explosive Discovery Of Secret Documents In Joe Biden’s Office – What We Already Know About It

Russian troops advance in eastern Ukraine. In Soledar, a small town with the largest salt mines in the region, “heavy fighting” is currently taking place, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warns. There is “almost no life” left there, “no intact wall”, that’s how bad it is in Soledar, the president said. For weeks Russian units and the Kremlin loyal mercenary group “Wagner” have been attacking there and now control large parts of the city.

A Russian victory in Soledar would be painful for the Ukrainian army. Because the small town with formerly 10,000 inhabitants is a crucial lever to achieve an important operational goal of the Russians in the Donbass: the capture of Bakhmut, where the Russian army has been running against a wall for months and is losing. thousands of soldiers.

But has Soledar already lost to Ukraine? How important are the Ukrainian supply lines west of the city? And the strategically important city of Bakhmut will soon fall? The overview.

What is happening in Soledar now?

In Soledar in eastern Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian troops are currently fighting each other in a bloody urban war. The Russian army, supported by “Wagner” mercenaries, is said to have already controlled most of the city. This is reported by the British Ministry of Defense and Ukrainian war blogger on Tuesday. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj has also admitted that the situation in Soledar is currently “very difficult” and speaks of a “massive Russian attack” on the small town.

Russian troops are said to have taken the salt mine in the city center in the meantime. A video online is said to show a Ukrainian tank defending the central mine shaft in Soledar.

How is the military situation?

Ukrainian soldiers reported on Telegram that Russian generals often sent poorly trained recruits into battle to storm Ukraine’s defense lines. This leads to huge losses on both sides. Above all, the mercenaries of the infamous “Wagner” unit are said to be extremely cruel. The latter reports to Putin’s confidant Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is said to have a special interest in the Soledar salt deposits.

Ukrainian deputy defense minister Anna Maljar said the Russians used artillery, multiple rocket launchers and mortars in Soledar on a large scale on Monday.

To save the small town, the Ukrainian president has announced that he will send additional units and more equipment to the front. However, as reported by Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butuzov, Russia is currently trying with all its might to reach Ukrainian supply lines west of Soledar in order to cut off supplies to the defenders. If successful, it would be a bitter blow to the Ukrainian associations in the region.

The weather also plays a role – for both sides: temperatures are currently around minus 18 degrees. In this cold, both attackers and defenders rely heavily on their supply lines. It is all the more important for Ukraine to secure the supply route at Soledar.

Why is Soledar so important?

Soledar is just 15 kilometers away from Bakhmut. Both cities are part of a Ukrainian defensive wall enclosing the metropolitan area between Slowyansk and Kramatorsk. Kramatorsk is the main industrial center in the east of the country and the headquarters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbass is also located there.

The British Ministry of Defense says the Russian advance on Soledar is an attempt to encircle Bakhmut from the north and interrupt Ukrainian supplies.

“Wagner” boss Prigoschin also justified the persistence with which Soledar and Bakhmut are attacked there with the “underground mining system”. It is said that tanks could also drive into the deep and ramshackle tunnels under the two cities – possibly even behind Ukrainian lines.

Main Russian war target

In Bakhmut, Russian troops have been trying for months to storm Ukrainian defenses. The small town, from which many of the nearly 74,000 inhabitants counted in 2020 have fled, is a key operational target of the Russian military: once Bakhmut is taken, Putin’s forces will be able to more easily reach one of the central war objectives. : to completely conquer the Donbass.

The Donbass is extremely important economically for Ukraine, mainly because of its raw materials and mining. Before the start of the Russian offensive war in February 2022, about 6.5 million people lived there. Last September, Russia illegally annexed the two administrative units of the Donbass, Donetsk and Luhansk, in addition to Kherson and Zaporizhia – even though large parts of the Donbass are still under Ukrainian control. Now Moscow is trying to use a crowbar.

What is the probability of taking Bachmut?

Meanwhile, the fighting for Bachmut continues. On Sunday, Ukraine had to give up Pidhorodne, a small town just before Bakhmut. Despite the Russian advance, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was convinced that Bakhmut would not fall. Not even the British Ministry of Defense expects the Russians to take it any time soon. Ukrainian forces have established stable defensive positions and continue to control critical supply routes, it said in London.

But Ukrainian success in the region will mainly depend on how many weapons Ukraine can use – and how quickly it can acquire them, including from Western allies.

(t online)