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KYIV — Russia is throwing waves of Wagner mercenaries into a massive assault on the salt-mining town of Soledar in the Ukrainian region east of Donetsk, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister Hannah Maliyar said. ToldAs Moscow seeks to cover the strategic front-line town of Bakhmut.
“The enemy literally steps over the corpses of their own soldiers, extensively using artillery, volley fire systems and mortars, even covering their own soldiers with fire,” Maliar said. Told.
in the early hours of Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russia’s invading force was concentrating its greatest efforts on Soledar.
“It is extremely difficult – almost the entire walls have not survived,” Zelensky said.
The Russians needed to capture Soledar in order to encircle Bakhmut, 10 kilometers to the south.
Britain’s Defense Ministry has said that Moscow’s forces have been attacking Bakhmut since mid-summer to block communications with Ukraine. in a statement. “Part of the fighting is centered on the entrance to 200 km long disused salt mine tunnels that run beneath the district. Both sides are concerned that they could be used to infiltrate behind their border,” the ministry said. .
Bakhmut is Russia’s main military base in the eastern region of Donbass, as well as its main obstacle to further annexation of Donetsk province.
Although, like Soledar, Bakhmut was largely destroyed during the battle, the Russians cannot take it, even though Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian army commander and leader of Wagner’s mercenaries, sends hundreds of troops in an attempt to seize it. are being sent to death.
Prigozhin claims that every house in Bakhmut is a fortification and that soldiers have to fight there every 300 metres. Russia’s ruthless strategy in that area has already won it the title of world’s fiercest. “Flesh waves of Bakhmut.”
Prigozhin presented the capture of Bakhmut as his personal project. He claimed that it was an important logistics center and a focal point of the Eastern Front.
“It is a unique landscape – ravines and elevations, which are natural tunnels. And the icing on the cake is the system of Soledar and Bakhmut salt mines, actually a network of underground tunnels. can shelter a group of people, but also move tanks and infantry fighting vehicles,” said the press service of Prigozhin in a statement.
On 6 January, the Russians managed to break into the city and by now, the Russians controlled most of the settlement, the British ministry Told.
on the Ukrainian side, 46th The amphibious assault brigade is fighting heavy Russian forces at Soledar.
“The situation is difficult. Serious. But there are opportunities. To be honest, we have not seen such heroism, lawlessness and self-sacrifice even near Kherson. People do, do and will continue to do incredible things,”46th said in the brigade an official statement on Tuesday. “We hope it was not all in vain. And it was really necessary. Otherwise there is no other way to explain such a large number of people left here.
Zelensky tried to allay those fears. “Because of the resilience of our fighters in Soledar, we’ve got extra time and extra forces for Ukraine,” he said.
Zelensky described the Russian strategy near Soledar as madness. He claimed that it was not clear what Russia wanted to achieve there. Everything in the area is completely destroyed, with almost no life left.
“The whole land near Soledar is covered with the bodies of the occupiers and the marks of the attacks. It looks like madness Zelensky said.