Russia has already captured most of the city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, the scene of fierce fighting in recent days between Ukrainian forces and Russian troops. Wagner. The capture of the small salt mining town would be Moscow’s most significant gain since August last year, if the information provided by the UK Ministry of Defense in its regular daily report on the situation on the ground this Tuesday is confirmed. The second half of 2022 is the most humiliating series of defeats.
Russian forces have been fighting for months to capture the nearby town Bagmuth, a few kilometers from Soledar. Any victory will come at a heavy cost, with both sides suffering heavy casualties as a result of some of the fiercest fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. Kiev has released several photos in recent days of what the Ukrainian government says are dozens of Russian soldiers dead in mud-covered fields.
Moscow says capturing Bagmut will be an important step towards taking full control of Donetsk region, one of four provinces illegally annexed four months ago. But on Monday, during a press conference, the Russian Defense Ministry did not mention Soledar or Bakhmut.
“Russia’s Solidar axis may encircle Baghmut from the north in an attempt to disrupt Ukrainian communications,” the British Ministry of Defense said. Explanation Diary.
In his regular evening address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that the situation in Solidar was “difficult” but said that Ukrainian defenders had gained too much time by holding their positions and that Ukraine would eventually drive the Russians out of the area. Industrial region of Eastern Donbass.
“What does Russia want to get there? Everything is completely destroyed, there is almost no life. Thousands of people have been killed, the land near Soledor is covered with the corpses of residents,” Zelensky said. “This is what madness looks like,” he added.
Near Pakmut, a group of Ukrainian soldiers fired missiles from a heavy anti-aircraft gun at what they said were Russian ground positions across the snow-barren terrain.
“We’re roasting the orcs,” a soldier with the “nam de queer” pilot quoted by Reuters said, using a common Ukrainian phrase for Russian soldiers.
Serhii Cherevaty, a spokesman for the forces in eastern Ukraine, said the Russians were deploying their best elements from the Wagner group in Solader, which had been hit by artillery 86 times in the past 24 hours, and compared Russian tactics to those used in World War I: throwing massed men into ground combat, even with heavy casualties.
“This is definitely not a 21st century war,” he commented.
Journalist Yuri Butsov, who works with Ukrainian troops in Solador, wrote for the New Voice online channel that Russian forces have established fire control along a key Ukrainian supply route.
“It’s not a complete blockade, but normal distribution along the route is impossible, and that’s important for security,” he said.
The Wagner Group, a mercenary company founded by Yevgeni Prigojin, an ally of Vladimir Putin, is at the forefront of the Bakhmut fight, while Russia’s regular military forces are handling mainly defensive positions elsewhere on the front lines.
Prigogine, whose militants also operate in Africa and the Middle East, has released videos showing himself. Recruit mercenaries In Russian prisons with amnesty privileges.
On Saturday, Wagner’s founder said Soledar was important because of its network of mining mines. The United States says Prigozhin may want to take personal control of the region’s mineral resources.
“Let’s be honest, the Ukrainian army is fighting bravely for Pakmut and Soledar”, admitted Prigozhin this Tuesday, quoted by the news service of the Wagner group on the social network Telegram, according to the French agency AFP.
