The battle for the town of Soledar, in eastern Ukraine, is one of the bloodiest since the beginning of the offensive by Moscow, which throws all its forces there in the hope of returning to victory after several setbacks.
1) Mines de sel
Prior to the conflict, Soledar was just a small town of about 10,000 people primarily known for its salt mines. Its name also means “gift of salt” in Ukrainian and Russian.
The Soledar salt mines are the largest in Europe. In particular, they are crossed by 200 kilometers of underground galleries, which can represent several tactical advantages in time of war.
2) “Bloody” battle»
Russia and Ukraine said the fighting in Soledar was particularly fierce. “Everything that is happening today in the direction of Bakhmout or Soledar is the bloodiest scenario of this war,” Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, told AFP on Wednesday.
“A lot of blood, a lot of artillery duels, a lot of contact fights, especially in Soledar,” he listed. Even the Kremlin, usually tight-lipped about military casualties, admitted the Russians had paid a “pretty high price” to advance to Soledar.
3) Russian mercenaries
The battle for Bakhmout, of which that of Soledar is only a part, is mainly fought, on the Russian side, by the mercenaries of the paramilitary group Wagner, led by a renowned businessman close to the Kremlin, Evguéni Prigojine.
The assault on Soledar is “exclusively” led by Wagner’s men, said Yevgeny Prigojine, suspected by analysts of wanting to strengthen his political stature in Russia through military successes in Ukraine. The businessman has toured Russian prisons in recent months to recruit inmates, against the promise of high salaries and an amnesty after some time spent fighting.
4) Rivalries
Beyond the military aspects, the battles for Soledar and Bakhmout have also exposed the bitter rivalry which, according to many analysts, exists between Wagner and the regular Russian army.
On Wednesday, Yevgeni Prigojine announced that his group controlled Soledar, before being denied by the Russian Ministry of Defense, citing fighting still ongoing. Even the Kremlin has called for “not rushing” to declare victory.
However, analyst Vassily Kashin points out that the two camps are “cooperating” despite their rivalry. “They can’t do things independently, they’re part of the same force,” he says.
5) Reconnect with victory
If analysts dispute the strategic importance of Soledar, there is no doubt that the Russian authorities will seize the opportunity to claim an important victory, after suffering spectacular setbacks. Russian forces have been desperately seeking for months to take Bakhmout, sending waves of soldiers impaling themselves on the Ukrainian defenses and constantly pounding the city with artillery.
“Any win is important, especially because there hasn’t been a win for a while,” Khramchikhin said of Soledar. “Strategically, it could make things easier for Bakhmout,” he adds. The analyst who requested anonymity believes that taking Soledar would be “a tactical victory with little strategic value”. “It will have little impact on the overall situation” on the ground, he also argues.