MOSCOW, January 23. /TASS/. Ukrainian forces have completely destroyed Soledar, as there is not a single building in the city left intact, the acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic Denis Pushilin said on Monday.
"Soledar is destroyed. The enemy inflicted maximum damage. No building in the city is intact," he said on the Rossiya-24 TV channel.
Pushilin noted that retreating Ukrainian soldiers had tried to cause maximum damage to the salt mines.
"In fact, all supply links and infrastructure have been destroyed. I could see that for myself: the elevators were damaged not by shelling, not by artillery. There was a pinpoint explosion from the inside," he added.
Soledar, located about 100 kilometers north of Donetsk, had until recently been part of the Ukrainian army’s line of defense Artyomovsk - Soledar - Seversk. On January 12, Soledar was liberated from Ukrainian forces, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov stressed that complete control of the city would allow supply routes to Ukrainian troops in Artyomovsk (Ukrainian name Bakhmut) to be cut off, after which any remaining units could be blocked and encircled.
Ukraine refuses to acknowledge the loss of Soledar. As the coordinator for inter-parliamentary relations with the People's Council (legislature) of the LPR, first deputy chairman of the State Duma’s committee on CIS affairs, Eurasian integration and relations with compatriots Viktor Vodolatsky, has told TASS, recognizing the failure in Soledar will be difficult for both Kiev and NATO, which has been beefing up Ukraine’s military muscle. Control of the city is significant psychologically and geopolitically.