A small town in eastern Ukraine is part of the defensive wall to stop the Russians from conquering the Donbass. But the situation there is very difficult at the moment, with Ukraine facing several hostile units.
According to information from Kyiv, the defenders in the Soledar area have found themselves in a difficult position during the fighting in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. "It's difficult in Soledar at the moment," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on her Telegram channel today. Previously, there was talk of house-to-house fighting in the small town.
Like Bakhmut, which has been contested for months, Soledar is part of the Ukrainian defensive wall in front of the conurbation between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Taking the agglomeration would be almost tantamount to conquering the Donbass - one of Russia's publicly stated goals early in its war of aggression.
The Russians had concentrated large forces in front of Soledar. Not only regular units of the Russian army were involved in the attacks, but also mercenary troops, Maljar wrote. In fact, in the area around Bachmut and Soledar - both cities are only 14 kilometers apart - the mercenaries of the "Wagner" troops, who are considered to be well equipped, are attacking. The French military historian Cédric Mas writes on Twitter that the Ukrainian soldiers are confronted here with Russian troops, "Wagner" mercenaries and Chechens.
Russian military blogs recently reported a breach in the defense lines in Soledar, but this has not yet been officially confirmed by Moscow. According to information from Kyiv, Ukrainian troops continue to keep the city under control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared in December that in the hotspots of Bakhmut, Soledar and Kremnina "there hasn't been any habitat that wasn't damaged by shells for a long time".
