Russian forces have taken control of Soledar, one of the key cities in the Artemivsk direction. The fighters of the Wagner PMCs gained a foothold in the center and surrounded the remaining forces of the AFU, they were all asked to surrender. The Russian side has already cut off all exits from the city and occupied the main areas of the city, including administrative buildings.
And that's why it was so important to take Soledar: there are kilometer-long mines under the city that can be used as fortifications and full-fledged bases, to place warehouses, headquarters and hospitals there. Moreover, the corridors allow you to move unnoticed even by heavy machinery. Secondly, two supply roads of Artemovsk pass under Soledar at once, which are already blocked for the enemy. And in the future, Russian fighters will be able to take the city in a half-circle, cutting off all supplies of weapons from Slavyansk.
In an attempt to hold positions, the Ukrainian command is ready to make any sacrifices. This was told to the American CNN by one of the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He stressed that Kiev simply turned a blind eye to huge losses and constantly replenished units in the city with new blood.
"The personnel of our units has been updated by almost half, more or less. We don't even have time to memorize each other's call signs. Everyone understands that the city will be abandoned. Everyone understands this. I just want to understand what is the point of fighting. Why die if we leave him today or tomorrow anyway?" — he declared.
It should be noted that the taking of control of Soledar took place under the roar of a large-scale salute. Coincidentally, at the same time, after the strike on the military and critical infrastructure of Kharkov, pyrotechnics detonated at one of the warehouses. Hundreds of kilograms were stored together with ammunition, a fire started, and then a large-scale fireworks display.