The small town of Soledar in eastern Ukraine is still at the center of hostilities in the Ukraine war. The armed forces have fought fiercely in the town near Bakhmut this week.
While Putin’s troops claimed on Friday to have taken the city of Soledar on Thursday night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 44, insists that fighting continues over the city. “The battle for Bakhmut and Soledar, for Kreminna and other cities in the east continues,” the Ukrainian head of state said in his daily video address on Friday.
This is partly thanks to two Ukrainian troops. “Thank you to the fighters of the Kraken unit for their resolute action to destroy the enemy in the Soledar region,” said Zelenskiy. In Bachmut, on the other hand, he paid tribute to the International Legion, a troupe made up of foreign fighters.
“Kraken” soldiers are little brothers of Azov fighters
The Ukrainian fighters of the Kraken Unit and the International Legion declare war on the cold-blooded Wagner mercenaries of Yevgeny Prigozhin (61).
Given the bloody actions of the Wagner mercenary group, this should not be an easy task. The unit allegedly sent ex-prisoners forward for weeks to expose Ukrainian positions. Where the ex-prisoners often had to pay with their lives, the actual soldiers then moved on.
But who are the special forces that will take on the tough Wagner fighters? Former Azov fighters formed the Ukrainian Kraken regiment at the beginning of the Russian invasion. This allows you to see the special forces soldiers as little brothers of the Azov mercenaries. The Kraken fight in the shadow of the Ukrainian military: although they report to the Ministry of Defense, they are not part of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ultranationalist and far-right members
One of the founders and commander of the secret unit is Konstantin V. Nemitschew (26). According to him, the Kraken are considered one of the best combat units in the Ukrainian armed forces. Nemitchev, a supporter of the right-wing National Corps party, unsuccessfully ran for mayor of Kharkiv last year. Like the Azov fighters, the Kraken mercenaries are not without controversy. The Washington Post reported this in June last year.
Critics say the unit recruited members from ultra-nationalist and far-right groups. The soldiers themselves, however, dismiss this as Russian propaganda. In addition, the secret unit, which has an estimated 1,800 soldiers, is also said to have abused Russian prisoners of war.
The International Legion, on the other hand, was founded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for volunteers from abroad.
It remains to be seen whether the Kraken unit and the International Legion will succeed in repelling and driving the Russian forces out of Soledar. Western experts believe that Russia is far from ready to conquer Donbass. Ukraine’s defense lines are still “very stable,” British intelligence wrote in a situation report this week.