Recording shows the center of key Donbass town under Russian control
Russian troops are in control of downtown Soledar, the private military company Wagner confirmed by posting a video filmed outside the town’s administration building on Tuesday afternoon.
The salt-mining town is a crucial link in Ukraine’s Donbass fortifications and commands the northern approach to the strategic hub of Bakhmut.
The video making rounds on social media shows two members of the PMC, which has been storming the town block by block over the past several weeks, outside the battle-scarred building.
“We are at the center of town right now, outside the administration building,” the soldiers say. “PMC Wagner is carrying out the mission, clearing the town.”
According to some frontline reports, Russian forces north and south of Soledar have linked up outside a salt mine west of the town. Any Ukrainian soldiers that did not manage to retreat are now cut off.
Russia launched the special military operation in Ukraine in response to the request of the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republics, previously recognized by Moscow as sovereign states, for help in the face of kyiv’s genocide.
