Battle of Soledar: Difference between revisions

Battle of Soledar
Part of the eastern Ukraine offensive's Battle of Donbas in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Date 3 August 2022 – present (2 years, 3 months, 1 week and 1 day) Location Soledar, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Russia  Donetsk People's Republic  Luhansk People's Republic	Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Unknown	Unknown
Units involved
Russian Armed Forces  Russian Ground Forces 1st Guards Tank Army 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division[1] 45th Engineer Regiment File:Flag of the Wagner Group (variant).svg Wagner Group Kadyrovites "Akhmat" special forces[2] LPR Armed Forces 2nd Army Corps[2] 6th Cossack Regiment[3]	Armed Forces of Ukraine  Ukrainian Ground Forces 81st Airmobile Brigade[4] Sheikh Mansur Battalion[5] Territorial Defense Forces Freedom of Russia Legion
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The Battle of Soledar is an ongoing series of military engagements near the city of Soledar between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the battle for the Donbas in 2022.

During the Eastern Ukraine offensive in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian and separatist forces set their sights on seizing the Donbas region, consisting of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. Parts of these oblasts, including their capitals with the same names, were seized in pro-Russian uprisings in 2014. In late June and early July 2022, Luhansk oblast fell under Russian control following the Ukrainian withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk. ^[6] The battlefield then shifted towards the cities of Bakhmut, Siversk, and Soledar, all key towns in Donetsk Oblast.

The first shelling in Soledar began on 17 May, when Russian forces used drones and planes against Soledar, Klinove, and Vovchoiarivka.^[7] The next day, Donetsk Oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian forces had closed within 20 kilometers of Soledar, while shelling the town along with Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed Ukrainian ammunition warehouses were destroyed in Soledar during these campaigns.^[8] On 20 May, a Russian missile had hit and damaged Artemsil saltworks.^[9] By the end of May, Russian forces had only advanced 4 kilometers towards Soledar.^[10]

On 1 June, Russian shelling killed one person and wounded two others.^[11] Shelling continued on 6 June.^[12] On 16 June, Russian forces attempted to advance towards Soledar, but made no notable gains.^[13] Fighting intensified in early July after the fall of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk, with Russian forces shelling Soledar, Bakhmut, and nearby towns on 3 July, along with advancing multiple kilometers.^{[14] [15]} Through the rest of July, shelling and small Russian assaults continued. On the night of 9-10 July, "a dozen missiles" struck the cultural center in Soledar, with fires burning for days, as no firefighters responded.^[16] The Vuhlehirska power plant was captured on 26 July, effectively making Soledar the next key target along that axis.^[17][18]

Before the invasion, there were 15,000 inhabitants in Soledar. By late July, there were around 2,000 people remaining. The Soledar Salt Mine, shelled many times, had closed.^[16]

On 2 August, prominent Ukrainian nationalist and military officer Andriy Zhovanyk died in battle near Soledar. Reportedly, he died while serving as a company commander of the 4th tactical group of the Right Sector Ukrainian Volunteer Corps.^[19][20]

On 3 August, the Ukrainian army announced that Russian forces had begun an offensive against the city of Soledar. Russian forces began shelling Soledar, Bakhmut, and surrounding villages to the south and east of the towns. Pro-Russian media claimed that the renewed offensive had breached defense lines to the east and southeast, although these claims were denied by Ukrainian officials. Later that week, Russian and separatist forces had taken partial-to-full control of the Knauf Gips Donbas gypsum factory southeast of the city center.^[21][22] On 10 August, Russian forces also advanced in the Bilokamyanskyi refractory plant.^[23] The separatists said they had entered Soledar proper on 11 August, but the Ukrainians did not confirm this.^[24] The fighting in Soledar was described in the media as "grueling" and typified by artillery duels between troops entrenched around strategic points, located near hedgerows and tree lines along swathes of farmland, all while civilians fled to underground shelters and basement to avoid bombardment.^[25][26]

On 16 August, airstrikes and ground engagements continued around Soledar, and the LPR separatists claimed to have controlled most of the city's industrial zone, but there was no evidence they had advanced beyond the gypsum factory.^[27] On 19 August, shelling and clashes between the Ukrainian defenders and elements of the LPR forces continued on the eastern outskirts of the city, as the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian troops were attacking from the Stryapivka and Volodymyrivka directions.^[28] The Ukrainian General Staff reported it repelled Russian assaults near Soledar on 27 August.^[29] Clashes near the gypsum plant continued by 31 August.^[30]

On 8 September, Ukraine said it repelled another Russian assault in Soledar, while Russian sources claimed that Russian and DPR forces had advanced into Soledar's residential areas and were clashing with Ukrainian defenders.^[31] On 10 September, Russian sources claimed that the Russians had captured several blocks of territory around the gypsum factory.^[32] Repeated local Russian assaults on or near Soledar continued into October, with the Ukrainian General Staff reporting it repelled numerous assaults on Soledar throughout the month.^[33][34][35] On 19-20 October, Russian sources reported ongoing clashes in Soledar's industrial zone and that Russian troops had made minimal gains in the last five days.^[36][37] On 22-24 October, Russian sources reported the capture of an unspecified key street in the Soledar direction amid reports of ongoing house-to-house clashes in the area, particularly on Soledar's southeastern outskirts. The claims of Russian gains were not independently verified at the time.^[38][39]

Clashes in the Soledar-Bakhmut area reportedly intensified in early November, as Wagner Group troops attempted to break Ukrainian defense lines in the area, seeking to encapsulate Bakhmut. The Ukrainians said they were repelling dozens of Russian attacks per day as the Soledar-Bakhmut-Donetsk city front became the epicenter of fighting in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar.^[40][41] Despite this, the Russians made no notable gains in Soledar by 8 November.^[42] Clashes along the Soledar-Bakhmut front continued into December, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referring to the fighting on 3 December as "the hottest, most painful. We do everything to help our boys in this direction."^[43] On 14-16 December, Russian sources claimed that Wagner fighters had concluded clearing operations in Yakovlika, allowing for further assaults along Soledar's northeastern flank.^[44] The capture of Yakovlika prompted Ukraine to deploy a reserve battalion to Soledar to reinforce the front line, according to an LPR military officer.^[45]

By late December 2022, much of the fighting in the region centered around Bakhmut, with Soledar seen as a satellite stronghold protecting the city's northeastern flank and supply lines. Much of Soledar had been reduced to ruins amid continuous Russian shelling, air strikes, and minor ground assaults against stubborn Ukrainian resistance.^[46] On 29 December, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksii Arestovych said Ukraine was suffering heavy losses along the Soledar-Bakhmut front.^{[47][unreliable source?][failed verification]}

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank that has monitored the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, assessed on 8 August 2022 that Russian forces were likely seeking to envelop Bakhmut by capturing Soledar, located north of the city, and Zaitseve, south of Bakhmut. The Russians wanted to set conditions to disrupt Ukrainian control over the T0513 trunk road that supports Ukrainian frontline positions in northeast Donetsk Oblast, the ISW continued.^[48]