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Bakhmut...

Up to 32 Battalion tactical groups were concentrated in the Bakhmut

area back in January, half of which were directly

involved in the fighting and the rest were providing casualty compensation.

But Prigozhin, in an attempt to demonstrate his usefulness, overplayed everything.

As you might guess, he overplayed his hand, which is not surprising, given his background.

Prigozhin pulled a third of the resource from under Bakhmut to Soledar and successfully milled

it there. The 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division and more had to plug the holes.

The military leadership began hastily plugging the holes in the rear with new recruits.

As a result of Prigozhin's multitrack operation, the group of almost

25,000 troops, taking into account eliminated and sanitary losses by more than a third.

In addition to the meat grinder at Soledar, the disposal of abandoned

resources near Bakhmut continued, which also affected the number of Russian troops there.

The bridgehead has stalled, and the Russian army is not making any sudden

moves and is waiting. The command must urgently redeploy those who will make up for the losses,

and this compensation will obviously no longer be Prigozhin's convicts.

But this takes time and resources. Everything rests precisely on them.

In the meantime, Prigozhin is handing out "For

the Takeover of Soledar" badges to the Russian troops in a dead end.

So, what is the latest news on Soledar, not counting the statements from the Russian side.

"Ukrainian defense forces probably withdrew from Soledar in the Donetsk region on January 16 and

equipped new defensive lines to the west of the city. Russian forces will further attempt to

encircle Bakhmut. This was reported by the British Ministry of Defense, citing intelligence data.

British intelligence pointed out that the town was under the control of the Russian military and

fighters of the Wagner Group. The latter made up the bulk of the forces rushed to Soledar.

This Russian operation is aimed at eventually encircling Bakhmut in

the Donetsk region - one of the two supply routes for Ukrainian troops stationed in the

city "is under increasing pressure," the British Defense Ministry said.

The agency also shared images showing that the south and east of Bakhmut have continued to

come under heavy artillery fire since early January. British intelligence believes that

Ukrainian forces are probably continuing to defend themselves on the outskirts of the

city. That is, there are no specifics yet, but let's not rule out that possibility.

I have already said that Soledar, like any other settlement in the combat zone,

is carrying out its functions and will continue to do so to the best of its ability. Soledar

and Bakhmut have already exceeded expectations in their work, a huge number of occupants and

military equipment have been destroyed, and defense lines have been created behind them.

Therefore, if it is necessary to change positions to save the lives of fighters, it should be done.

Let the Russian occupiers remain cannon fodder, while Ukrainian soldiers will still return to

Soledar and other temporarily occupied cities of Ukraine. This will happen soon enough.