Russian troops focus new strikes not on Bakhmut, but on Soledar - military analyst

He expressed this opinion on the air of the Verdict with Serhii Rudenko program on Espreso TV. 

“The peak of hostilities occurred in the middle of December last year. Now the fighting is becoming less intense in the Bakhmut direction. Ukraine's Armed Forces received reinforcements of people, equipment and weapons to continue to hold the city and prevent the enemy from capturing it. The occupiers have been storming Bakhmut for six months, changing their tactics and forming small assault groups,” Hetman said.

According to a military analyst, it is impossible to consider Bakhmut as a bridgehead from a military point of view.

“Settlements that are located nearby can be of strategic importance. First of all, it is Kostiantynivka, where there is a railway hub. Now they have concentrated the main strikes not on Bakhmut, but on Soledar, which is nearby. There are many salt mines in Soledar, and the aggressors decided that Ukraine's Armed Forces keep equipment in those mines, but this is impossible,” Hetman emphasized.

• The WSJ suggests that Russia may have diverted the main offensive forces from Bakhmut to Soledar.

• The head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said that as a result of military operations, Bakhmut was destroyed by more than 60%.