A coordinated Ukrainian attack killed more than 100 Russian soldiers banded together during the Battle of Soledar, leading to another devastating setback in Vladimir Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, it has been claimed.
Putin was accused today of “drawing his own people into slaughter by the thousands” in his attempt to secure the important city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine, after Ukrainian troops fired a Soviet-era missile at a large group of Russian soldiers.
The Ukrainian military said more than 100 Russian soldiers “went to hell together” in the coordinated attack in Soledar, which involved special forces, gunners and rocket launchers.
Heavy fighting has broken out in Soledar, once a busy salt-mining town in eastern Ukraine, as Russian forces attempt to seize control of the nearby and important town of Bakhmut.
Haunting before-and-after satellite images show how all the city’s buildings were destroyed by a relentless stream of rockets and gunfire, with hardly any walls remaining.
A Ukrainian missile attack reportedly killed more than 100 Russian soldiers who had joined forces during the Battle of Soledar. Pictured: Footage reportedly shows a group of Russian soldiers being hit by Ukrainian artillery in the fields surrounding the town of Soledar
In Soledar, the ground is now scarred by a relentless stream of missiles and gunfire as Russian forces aim to seize control of the nearby and important city of Bakhmut. Pictured: before and after images of Soledar amid the heavy fighting
In Soledar, once a busy salt mining town in eastern Ukraine, the ground is now littered with a relentless stream of missiles and gunfire as Russian forces aim to seize control of the nearby and important town of Bakhmut. Pictured: before and after images of Soledar amid the heavy fighting
The Ukrainian army’s Grad multiple rocket launcher fired rockets at Russian positions on the front line near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine on Wednesday
Soledar, in the industrial Donbass region, is just nine miles from Bakhmut, where troops from both sides have suffered heavy casualties in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year
Footage released by Ukrainian special forces reportedly shows a group of Russian soldiers being hit by Ukrainian artillery in the fields surrounding the city.
The Russian soldiers were spotted in large groups in several areas of Soledar by the Ukrainian special forces, who then relayed these coordinates to the high command.
Ukrainian troops opened fire on the Russian soldiers, while the Tochka-U tactical missile was also launched in a series of deadly attacks.
More than 100 Russian soldiers were killed in the coordinated attack, two machine gun positions and two mortars were also destroyed, Ukrainian special forces said.
Soledar, in the industrial Donbass region, is just nine miles from Bakhmut, where troops from both sides have suffered heavy casualties in some of the most intense trench warfare since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
“The Russians are walking over their own corpses,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said today about the dire situation in Soledar. “Russia is driving its own people into slaughter by the thousands, but we are persevering.”
Russia is trying to take control of Bakhmut as it has a network of cavernous mining tunnels underground that can house troops or tanks.
Russian troops stepped up their attack on Soledar, forcing Ukrainian troops to endure wave after wave of attacks led by the Wagner mercenaries.
Ukrainian soldiers at their positions on the front line near Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Wednesday
Ukraine’s Army 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade fires a German Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues near Soledar on Wednesday
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said fighting was still raging in the Soledar region – and dismissed claims that Putin’s Wagner group controlled the city.
Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian state television that there are 559 civilians in Soledar, including 15 children, and that ongoing fighting makes it impossible to evacuate them. The city had about 10,500 inhabitants before the war.
Soledar’s fate remains uncertain after the Wagner group claimed they control the gateway city – but the Kremlin warned against declaring victory prematurely.
In his daily address on Wednesday, Zelenskyy insisted that the front “hold”.
“The terror state and its propagandists are trying to pretend” to have had some success in Soledar, Zelensky said, “but the fighting continues.”
Russia’s attack on Soledar has come at a heavy cost for Putin’s men, with more than 100 soldiers killed in the latest Ukrainian attack.
Ukrainian special forces said: “More than 100 Russian soldiers together went to hell in Soledar area. This happened thanks to the coordinated work of SSO soldiers, gunners and rocket launchers.
“The concentration of the enemy in several areas was detected by the Special Operations Forces operators. Artillery was aimed at the enemy, and the Tochka-U tactical missile complex was also deployed in one of the areas.
“As a result of these multiple strikes, the destruction of more than 100 occupiers, 2 machine gun positions and 2 mortars was confirmed.
‘In the video – one of the stages of development of artillery according to the given coordinates.’
A Ukrainian soldier points to his position on the front line near Soledar in Ukraine’s Donetsk region on Wednesday
Smoke billows out during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Soledar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Wednesday
Ukrainian soldier Hryhorii, 42, of the 43rd Heavy Artillery Brigade, climbs out of a German Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer as Russia’s assault on Ukraine continues near Soledar on Wednesday
Both Moscow and Kyiv have said the fight in Soledar was long and brutal. If Soledar does fall to Moscow’s forces, it would be Russia’s first significant territorial gain in Ukraine in months.
Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed on Wednesday that his troops “took control of the entire Soledar area” and that “urban battles” were being fought in the city center.
But in a sign of differing reports on the situation on the ground, the Russian Defense Ministry urged caution, saying it was best to wait for “official announcements”.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said the situation in Soledar is approaching critical.
“The Ukrainian armed forces are holding their positions. About half of the city is under our control. Fierce fighting is taking place near the city center,” he said on YouTube.
However, Zhdanov told Ukrainian TV that if Russian troops captured Soledar or nearby Bakhmut, it would be a political rather than a military victory.
“There is more politics than war here,” Zhdanov said.
“If the Russians capture any of these cities, they will try to equate the event with the capture of Berlin, and they will use it for both foreign market and domestic consumption for propaganda purposes,” he said.
“In Russia, it will give them an opportunity to lift the spirits of conscripts and society at large. To unite them all…’
Ukraine’s military command said Thursday that Russia is recruiting former soldiers and law enforcement officers to join paramilitary forces in Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.