Ukrainian forces retreat from Soledar

UKRAINIAN forces have conducted an organised retreat from a town in the eastern region of the Donbas, an official said.

It marks a rare but modest battlefield triumph for Russia, after a series of setbacks in its invasion, which began almost 11 months ago.

The Ukrainian army pulled back from the salt-mining town of Soledar to “preserve the lives of the personnel”, Serhii Cherevatyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s forces in the east, said.

The soldiers retreated to previously prepared defensive positions, he added. Moscow has portrayed the battle for Soledar, which lies near the city of Bakhmut, as key to capturing the entire Donbas region.

The accomplishment takes the Russian forces a step closer to Bakhmut, but military analysts say capturing Soledar is more symbolic than strategic. Ukraine’s military, which has held out in Soledar against a months-long onslaught of superior Russian forces, said its fierce defence of the eastern stronghold helped to tie up Russian forces.

Russia claimed almost two weeks ago it had taken Soledar, but Ukraine denied it.

Many of Russia’s troops around Soledar belong to the private Russian military contractor Wagner Group, and the fighting reportedly has been bloody.

Since its invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has prioritised taking full control of the Donbas – a region made up of Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, where it has backed a separatist insurgency since 2014. Russia has seized most of Luhansk but about half of Donetsk remains under Ukraine’s control.

Taking control of Soledar could allow Russian forces to cut supply lines to Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, though the strength of Ukraine’s new defensive positions is unknown.

Elsewhere, Russian forces have continued to pummel Ukrainian provinces, especially in the south and east of the country.

Russian strikes injured 10 civilians in Donetsk province on Tuesday, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the provincial governor, said. Five people were wounded when Russian shells hit apartment blocks, he added.

In addition to the assault on Donetsk, Russian attacks on Tuesday and yesterday have hit settlements in the country’s Luhansk, Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson provinces.