Putin's Plan B: Will Donbass Small Town Bring Russia Victory Now?

Created: 01/11/2023 06:03

By: Andreas Schmid

Smoke rises in the area between Soledar and Bakhmut.

Now there should be battles for the cities again.

(Archive photo) © IMAGO/Daniel Carde

In the Ukraine war, the small town of Soledar has become the new epicenter of the fighting: Putin also wants to advance in the Donbass with the participation of Wagner mercenaries.

Soledar - Russian troops still want to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

However, because the conquest is faltering, Russia is apparently backing a plan B: the soldiers are now concentrating on the small town of Soledar, a power center of the notorious Wagner mercenaries.

Russian troops are apparently making progress.

Russian advances in Donbass: Wagner mercenaries advance in Soledar

British intelligence reported on Tuesday Russian gains in the region.

There is "slight progress" in the fighting for Bachmut.

Regular troops and Wagner units have made tactical advances into Soledar, ten kilometers to the north, over the past four days.

They probably controlled most of the place, the current situation report said.

According to Ukrainian sources, Russia has now shelled the city 86 times, saying it was "virtually destroyed".

Wagner fighters from Putin's friend Yevgeny Prigozhin ("Putin's cook") have been trying in vain for months to take the city of Bakhmut.

It is also interesting for commercial reasons because of the salt and gypsum mines on site (among other things, the Bavarian company Knauf has a plant in Bachmut. It was closed after the start of the war and is now said to be under the control of Wagner mercenaries).

After another unsuccessful attack on Bakhmut in December, the notorious mercenaries concentrated on Soledar in early January.

Ukraine seemed surprised.

Kiev's troops were initially able to resist, but are now gradually having to accept losses of territory.

Soledar is said to be 80 percent under Russian control.

Important small town Soledar: The course of the war in the Donbass could be decided near Bakhmut

Why Soledar?

The small town (10,000 inhabitants before the war) is strategically important due to its proximity to Bakhmut.

Bachmut remains the primary target of the Russian offensive, British intelligence said.

The advance to Soledar should encircle the city from the north and cut off Ukrainian lines of communication.

The fighting focused on approaches to disused salt mine tunnels that run under the area and are around 200 kilometers long.

Despite the increased pressure on Bakhmut, it is unlikely that Russia will take the city any time soon, as Ukrainian forces have established stable defenses and continue to control supply routes.

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Soledar and Bakhmut are part of the Ukrainian defensive wall in front of the conurbation between Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

From the Russian point of view, the capture of this area would be a significant step towards the conquest of the entire Donbass - one of the Kremlin's war aims.

The head of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

He is also known as "Putin's cook".

© Uncredited/AP/dpa

"Bachmut is about to be liberated": Russians are already reporting capture

The two warring factions spoke out in unison on Tuesday about the fighting in Soledar.

The Russian news agency Tass published several statements by pro-Russian forces in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

Apty Alaudinov, commander of the Bakhmut special unit, assumes that Soledar could be fully controlled in the next few days.

That would also affect Bachmut.

"Bakhmut is on the verge of liberation," Yan Gagin, an adviser to the Donetsk People's Republic, told Rossiya-1 TV channel.

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj described the situation on the ground as very tense.

"It's very difficult: There are hardly any intact walls left there," Zelenskyj said in his video message.

At the same time, he assured: "Even if the occupiers have now concentrated their greatest efforts on Soledar, the result of this heavy and prolonged struggle will be the liberation of our entire Donbass." The resistance of the Ukrainian soldiers in Soledar buys the whole army time, Zelenskyj said.

"The battle for the Donbass continues."