He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.
"It is difficult to say that the enemy will further increase its efforts, which have most likely reached their peak. On the other hand, given the number of fake reports about the events in Soledar, where our fighters continue to hold their positions, we can cautiously assume that the Ukrainian Defense Forces will retain their control over this town for a long time, even with the opposite statements of the Russian invading forces," the military expert noted.
Ivan Kyrychevskyi added that comparing the battles around Soledar with the Battle of Verdun, it is a historical parallel with the times of the First World War, when a small insignificant point became a positional deadlock, because the attacking side constantly threw cannon fodder at the enemy, trying to break through the defense, but to no avail.
"We should not get ahead of ourselves, but rather fix the stable situation that the Ukrainian Defense Forces hold their positions at Soledar. Accordingly, there is no reason to believe that the dynamics will change for the worse," Kyrychevskyi stressed.
On January 11, Colonel Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Eastern sector, denied Russian claims that Soledar is under Russian control.
On January 12, the Ukrainian army neutralized more than 100 Russians near Soledar. And Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesman of the Eastern grouping of troops, said that there are battles in the area of Soledar, the enemy is inflicted maximum damage.
The Pentagon also has no confirmation of the information about the alleged capture of Soledar by Russian forces.
On January 13, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar stated that fighting continued in Soledar at night, almost all the main forces of the Russian army were thrown to Donetsk region.
The American Institute for the Study of War said that Russia exaggerates the importance of Soledar; its capture will not allow it to control ground lines of communication with Bakhmut.