Soledar

Latest news on Soledar, a town located in Donetsk Oblast of Ukraine, 18km from Bakhmut. The town was established by Don Cossacks in the 17th century and had a population of 10,490 in January 2022. Soledar was originally known as Karlo-Libknekhtovsk, named after Karl Liebknecht and was renamed to Soledar in 1991. The town's economy was primarily based on salt mining. Soledar was captured by Russian GRU operatives in 2014 and was retaken by Ukrainian forces later that year.

In 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the town was hit by a Russian missile which targeted the Artemsil salt plant, leading to a battle between Russian and Ukrainian forces. Russian forces captured Bakhmutske on 27 December and claimed to have taken control of the Dekonskaya railway station near the town of Soledar on 4 January. On 5 January, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have pushed Ukrainian forces back to the Soledar salt mine.