He also said, “the whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers”.

“This is what madness looks like,” he added.

Soledar, which prior to the conflict had a population of about 10,000, may be considered primarily as a stepping stone to seizing Bakhmut, and its strategic worth is debatable.

The creator of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, seeks ownership of the region’s significant salt and gypsum mines.

According to the UK, the 200 km long abandoned tunnels were the subject of some fighting, and both Russia and Ukraine “are likely concerned that they could be exploited for infiltration behind their lines.”

Mr. Prigozhin has acknowledged his interest in the mines, referring to them as “the icing on the cake”

He called them a “network of underground cities” that can accommodate “a large group of people at a depth of 80-100 meters” and also provide the unrestricted movement of tanks and other military vehicles.

Two British nationals have gone missing

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, thanked the soldiers protecting Soledar in his evening address, adding that their tenacity “earned additional time and additional strength for Ukraine.”

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces posted on Facebook that on Monday, soldiers thwarted attacks near 13 populated centers, including Soledar and Bakhmut.

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Oleh Zhdanov, a well-known military analyst in Ukraine, thinks neither Soledar nor Bakhmut are particularly significant from an operational standpoint.

During an interview, Mr. Zhdanov claimed that Russia “is trying to prove to the entire world that its force is capable of victory.”

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