Russian troops have intensified their assault on defensive positions, with bitter fighting around the nearby salt mining town of Soledar, a pre-war town of just 10,000, as both sides try to seize control of the region.
Capturing Soledar would not be a turning point in the war for Russia, but it could provide a breakthrough in its assault on Bakhmut.
Fighters from the Wagner group, Russia’s most powerful private military company, have also been heavily involved in the fighting in the area, where schools, apartment blocks and farm buildings have been badly damaged or destroyed.
