This is Moscow’s first significant battlefield victory in the Russia-Ukraine War after a half-year of humiliating retreats.
According to official media, the Russian defence ministry claimed that its forces had occupied Soledar in eastern Ukraine. According to the government, the town was finally taken after being the target of intense battle and shelling from Moscow.
According to Moscow’s defence ministry, “the capture of Soledar was made possible by the constant bombardment of the enemy by assault and army aviation, missile forces and artillery of a grouping of Russian forces.”
Moscow added that this would now enable its troops to block off Ukrainian forces from the nearby town of Bakhmut. After a “hot” night of battle, Ukraine had earlier claimed that its troops were still holding out in Soledar. One of the bloodiest battlegrounds of the entire conflict was Soledar. The leader of the Russian mercenary company Wagner declared that his troops had completely liberated Soledar.
After a half year of humiliating retreats, this is Moscow’s first significant success on the battlefield, but US authorities predicted that the outcome of the combat in Soledar would not have a significant impact on the course of the war as a whole.
According to John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, “even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, it’s not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself, and it certainly isn’t going to stop the Ukrainians or slow them down.”
