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The Ukrainian Army has lost control of Soledar, one of its main strongholds in the Donbass. The Wagner units reached the western outskirts of the city from the northern and southern directions. Ukrainian garrison found itself in a cauldron in the center. Wagner fighters launched the mop up operation to destroy the remnants of enemy troops on the streets. This was officially confirmed by the head of Wagner PMC on the evening of January 10. He stressed that only Wagner fighters took part in the offensive. Russian forces took control of the central quarters of the city, including the buildings of the local administration and the city council. Footage also confirmed that the salt mines used as hideouts by Ukrainian servicemen came under Russian control. On the outskirts, Russian forces continued to develop their offensive westwards towards the Sol railway station. The loss of Blagodatny will be the final point of defeat of the Ukrainian grouping in the Soledar area. In their turn, Ukrainian military officials were late in revealing the situation in the city to their people. Only after the Ukrainian defeat became inevitable, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense claimed that Russians allegedly began their offensive on January 9. At that time, everyone was waiting for the decision of the Ukrainian military to withdraw troops and save lives of hundreds of servicemen. On the eve, CNN published interview with one of Ukrainian servicemen then fighting in Soledar. He confirmed that the situation was critical and the number of Ukrainian losses was so high that no one counted the dead. The anonimous soldier claimed that he was sure that Ukrainian authorities would give up the fight for Soledar. ‘Why die if we leave it today or tomorrow anyway?’ he said. However, the Ukrainian military command decided to follow its traditional tactics and use servicemen as cannon fodder. On January 9, the official representative of the Eastern Grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that Ukrainian units would not retreat. The Ukrainian soldiers, who are fighting in Soledar, have the task of exhausting the enemy’s forces as much as possible. As a result, there was no organized withdrawal. Some Ukrainian units managed to escape and fled from the city. Others were left in the cauldron. The capture by Russian troops of one of the most important defense nodes of the Ukrainian grouping in the Donbas was completely ignored by Kiev officials. In the morning report of the Ukrainian General Staff on January 10, Soledar was not even mentioned. Ukrainian propagandists are already preparing the public, declaring that military positions in Soledar are ‘not strategically important’, and loss of the city would change nothing. However, after Russian victory in Soledar, Ukrainian defense in Bakhmut is doomed.
