Ukrainian soldier in Soledar describes dire situation: âWe are just abandonedâ
From CNNâs Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv
A Ukrainian soldier in the contested eastern town of Soledar described a dire situation to CNN on Thursday evening, saying âwe are just abandoned.â
CNN is not identifying the soldier for security reasons.
âWe tried to withdraw ourselves, but the Orcs [Russians] are already there. If there is no order to withdraw today, we will most likely not have time to leave,â he told CNN over the phone. âWe were told that we would be withdrawn. And now we Đ°re just abandoned.â
He said that the soldiers had run out of food, were running low on water, and that they had wounded soldiers. He said that they still had some ammunition.
âThe last evacuation was three days ago,â he said. âThe order was to hold out to the very end. Judging by the sounds of the battle, our neighbors [other units] either withdrew or were ordered to withdraw. We were told to hold out.â
âWe hold on as long as we can. But anyone can get tired and hit the limit eventually. It is impossible to hold on just on a high morale for so long.â
Wagner, the Russian private military company, has claimed to have captured all of Soledar. A video posted to Telegram Thursday and geolocated by CNN shows Wagner forces on the northern edge of the town.
Ukraineâs 46th Airmobile Brigade claimed Thursday that it was âconducting counterattacksâ in the town.
âAfter several days of pulling back, weâve even made a small advance,â the unit said on Telegram. âThe railway station is ours. The mine is ours. We are waiting for support. Soledar is Ukraine.â
Zelensky thanks soldiers stationed in the embattled town of Soledar as Russian assault continues
From CNNâs Yulia Kesaieva in Kyiv
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky speaks during the tripartite meeting on January 11, in Lviv, Ukraine. (Yan Dobronosov/Global Images Ukraine/Getty Images)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily address thanked the Ukrainian soldiers defending the eastern town of Soledar from a Russian assault.
âEspecially today I would like to highlight the paratroopers of the 77th separate airmobile brigade, who along with the fighters of the 46th separate airmobile brigade in Soledar hold their positions and inflict significant losses on the enemy,â Zelensky said. âI thank you, guys!â
The Ukrainian military unit stationed in Soledar said Thursday that the situation in the contested eastern town is âcritical."
âThe situation is critical. News coming soon,â the 46th Airmobile Brigade said on Telegram.
Fighting is still raging in Soledar, a salt mine town in eastern Ukraine, despite Russian claims that it has gained control of the region.
The significance of Soledar in military terms is minimal. However, its capture would allow Russian forces, and especially the Wagner mercenary group, to turn their focus on nearby Bakhmut, which has been a target since the summer.
CNNâs Rob Picheta, Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych contributed to this post.
I am not sure what to make of this. From my memory, this is the first time I have read about a source from the UA talk negatively about their supremes.
What do you think is unrealistic with that ? You canât expect a surrounded unit which is in the process of getting destroyed, have high morale and not even question why they are surrounded and why promises are not being kept ? It is also far from the only time Ukrainians have criticised their own command and it wonât be the last. This is large scale war, so there will be all sort of mistakes when units lose communication.
It is what it is. The report is abslutely correct and CNN is not making shit up. The called their man on a cell phone. If you extrapolate from looking at maps and other reports, you see that this is only very logical and it canšt come as a big surprise.
As we have seen from other sources I have posted the Russians have succeeded with encirclement. Ukraine managed to pull out most of their forces, but not at all all. Unknown how many they left, but 100+. So yes, there has been a bad strategic decision somewhere in Ukrainian command because they clearly underestimated Russian attacks.
There is still desperate fighting in Soledar.
Even that is not necessarily the case. The Russians may have been forced to pay an unsustainable price for Soledar, and the Ukrainians may have pulled out most of their forces from the encirclement. That doesnât mean it is any fun for the holding force.
Well, I hope this is the case obviously. But I am not counting on and nor should you. I have seen a lot of circumstantial evidence of very high UA losses in Soledar btw, both in terms of corpses piled up as well as maps that shows supply route being in RU fire control for a considerable time as well as geolocation of fighting and anecdotes from soldiers from both sides. But sure, Wagner is paying a terrible price, but that price is chiefly payed with their chaff penal units as have been explained in posts above and not the actual professional Wagner veterans to the same degree. Now those penal troops matter, of course, but they still have tens of thousands of them.
But letâs hope this is the case and you are right. Itâs what I have been counting on. But I am not sure and I am very open to the posibillity of both Russian competance and Ukrainian tiredness.
Also you should be aware that RU has been prepating their regulars for a very large scale offensive for quite some time now. The bakhmut and Soledar decable is a diversion in reality. To keep UA busy. RU probably hopes UA will comitt reserves. The hammer will come down in eventually.
Yeah, thatâs what I feel as well. The period of Ukrainian successes is over now, and the chickens are coming home to roost now. Iâm afraid that this winter will be terrible for the Ukrainians, not that it hasnât already been terrible to be fairâŠ
F°©k this senseless war⊠
Ukraine is also hoarding reserves for spring offensive. But RU have their forces ready faster. For Ukraine, its all about defeating the coming large offensive and then counter attack hard.
Looking at the timeline from WW2, with over two years passing from the time Hitler invaded Poland before the Axis bombed Pearl Harbor and dragged the US into the warâŠ
I think itâs just a matter of time before EU or NATO have troops on the ground in Ukraine, cannot imagine that the western world will allow Russia to annex a large portion of a country in Europe without eventual reprisal.
The media dialogue has already been set, Russians are on media threatening nuclear strikes. Western troops and armaments are being sent over to amass in eastern europe. Fighters are being trained for next waves. Russia seems desperate to set up a solid defensive line before the spring thaw and get themselves entrenched in key positions.
Now, just waiting for a false flag event of a dirty bomb or attack in a sovereign EU member state which will be the call to arms. Will it be Warsaw? Or Paris, or London or BerlinâŠ
None of what you write is even close to likely. It is in fact, all of it, extemely unlikely. This isnât a World War ! I donât understand why these World War 3 fantasies pop up every other month on this board, Itâs not likely. The correct analogy, albeit imperfect, is with Finland in 1939, not alliance-bound Poland.
Any western troops will be volunteers and in Ukrainian uniform and not sanctioned. What you write is what Russian state tv tells their audience, but the difference is that the Russian tv hosts donât belive their scripted messages themselves but use it to shape opinion in favour of self sacrifice and decrease in discontent in the populace.
Thatâs my opinion anyway. I canât force you or others to share it of course. But I choke at it because it makes no sense to me. No sense at all.
And thatâs all I am going to say about the World War 3 scenario (for it to happen, someone must seriously miscalculate and be incredibly careless, which neither Russia nor NATO wants).