Although of little intrinsic value, Soledar sits at a strategic point about 6 miles north of Bakhmut, which Russian forces intend to encircle.
Seizing Bakhmut could disrupt Ukrainian supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to push towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk province.
“The salt mines are located in strategically important underground tunnels: there is a 200-kilometre (124-mile) network of tunnels in that area, British intelligence has foundand they say that those tunnels are a battlefield: whoever takes them can infiltrate behind enemy lines quite effectively,” Samuel Ramani, an expert on politics and international relations at Oxford University, said in an interview.
«The next step would be to advance on Bakhmut, but they would have to encircle the city and they still have problems with that.»
The Institute for the Study of Warfare, a US-based think tank, said in its latest daily briefing that «Russian forces probably control most, if not all, of Soledar.»
But this «It is not an operationally significant development and is unlikely to herald an imminent Russian encirclement of Bakhmut,» it added.
And even if Russian forces were to capture Bakhmut, many analysts aren’t sure it would be a turning point.
“Capturing Soledar, or even Bakhmut, will not make up for the losses Russia has suffered, including the losses at Kherson, for example,” said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at security consultancy Le Beck International.
Speaking at a White House news conference on Thursday, National Security Council coordinator John Kirby also downplayed the importance of the fight.
«Even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians… it will not have a strategic impact on the war itself,» he said.
«And it certainly won’t stop the Ukrainians or slow them down in terms of their efforts to reclaim their territory.»
The true value of capturing Soledar may not be on the battlefield.
«I think the value of cities like Bakhmut or Soledar is much more symbolic,» Horowitz said.
