--- title: "Ukraine Situation Report: Mining Town Of Soledar Holds Against Latest Russian Onslaught" description: "Ukrainian troops remain locked in vicious fighting around [Bakhmut](), reportedly having withstood a Russian assault on the town of Soledar on Saturday." date: "2023-01-07" modified: "2023-01-07" authors: - name: "Stetson Payne" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/stetson-payne" url: "https://www.twz.com/ukraine-situation-report-mining-town-of-soledar-holds-against-latest-russian-onslaught" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Europe" - "News & Features" - "Russia" - "Ukraine" tags: - "Ukraine" --- # Ukraine Situation Report: Mining Town Of Soledar Holds Against Latest Russian Onslaught ![]() *DONETSK OBLAST, UKRAINE - JANUARY 6: Ukrainian soldiers move into position to fire artillery on the Pisky frontline in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on January 6, 2023. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Ukrainian soldiers move into position to fire artillery on the Pisky front line in the Donetsk region, on January 6, 2023. \Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images\* Ukrainian troops remain locked in vicious fighting around [Bakhmut](), reportedly having withstood a Russian assault on the town of Soledar on Saturday. The Ukrainian 46th Airborne Assault Brigade held the small town northeast of Bakhmut, home to salt and gypsum mines, despite determined Russian attacks. Wagner PMC founder [Yevgeny Prigozhin]() wants control of the town’s mines, according to a report from [*Al Jazeera*]() citing a White House official. Ukrainian soldiers posted videos from the mines and within the town in an effort to dispel Russian claims it had captured the town in the battle. https://twitter.com/DefMon3/status/1611673984738775046 https://twitter.com/front\_ukrainian/status/1611838827970105345 https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1611673510191181824 https://twitter.com/JayinKyiv/status/1611726987403354114 https://twitter.com/LucasADWebber/status/1611805670160072704 ![]() *Google Maps* Fighting in this sector has become a constant struggle for the flanks as Russian forces keep throwing everything they have at the Ukrainians in hopes of a breakthrough. The latest intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defense highlighted continued fighting in the woods near Kremina in Luhansk Oblast, the north flank of Russia’s campaign. https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1611607916993298434 The battles around Bakhmut remain a savage tug of war amid splintered treelines, muddy trenches, and cratered moonscapes of no man’s land in between. Graphic drone footage shows Ukrainian forces fighting alleged [Wagner PMC]() mercenaries at incredibly close range and from above with deadly drone-dropped munitions. https://twitter.com/Azovsouth/status/1611403029432909859 With many thousands of conscripts entering the conflict, and the possibility — we would treat it as only that at this time — of another round of [mobilization]() looming, Russian commanders in the area should not be wanting for raw personnel. https://twitter.com/KyivIndependent/status/1611523846820986880 There’s also intense helmet-worn-camera footage from the fighting in Bakhmut of the Ichkerian OBON, a Separate Special Purpose Battalion of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion, in combat using [AT4]() single-shot 84mm launchers. The footage also reportedly shows Rustam Azhiev, a Chechen commander with experience fighting Russian troops in both Chechnya and Syria, with his group Ajnad al-Kavkaz. https://twitter.com/CalibreObscura/status/1611675272444784642 https://twitter.com/neilphauer/status/1504167310851981312 Video within Bakhmut appears to shows cluster munitions bursting overhead and raining down upon urban areas, likely incoming [rockets]() fired from BM-21 Grad, BM-27 Uragan, or BM-30 Smerch MLRS designed to suppress a broad area in a sweeping barrage. https://twitter.com/KyleJGlen/status/1611399679870107650 Before we head into the latest news from Ukraine, *The War Zone* readers can catch up with our previous rolling coverage [here](). **The Latest** Two weeks removed from a deadly rocket attack in downtown Kherson on [Christmas Eve](), subsequent strikes on the liberated city have reportedly targeted first responders, namely a fire department. https://twitter.com/EmmanuelleChaze/status/1611303335532920832 The fallout from the catastrophic [Ukrainian attack]() on a Russian barracks in Makiivka continues. Families of the deceased are now reportedly complaining to Russian authorities and are otherwise being left in the dark about the debacle. https://twitter.com/ChrisO\_wiki/status/1611305895849238530 If this sounds familiar, families of the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship [*Moskva*]() were similarly left [in the wind]() after the *Slava*-class cruiser [exploded]() and [sank]() after a Ukrainian anti-ship missile attack in April. Observers and no-doubt Ukrainian and western intelligence officers remain acutely aware of Russian troop movements in [Belarus]() north of the Ukrainian border. As the first anniversary of Russia’s [ill-fated]() offensive from the [Chernobyl]() Exclusion Zone into the [Kyiv suburbs]() nears, we wrote about the reality of a second effort against the Ukrainian capital, which you can read [here](). Reports from Belarus show more Russian troops, potentially some fresh off the lines in eastern Ukraine, have arrived and deployed to the Barnovichi training grounds nearer to the borders with NATO members Poland and Lithuania. https://twitter.com/UkraineNewsLive/status/1611302139942567937 https://twitter.com/The\_Lookout\_N/status/1611408138950819850 https://twitter.com/COUPSURE/status/1611333774851162112 https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1611071324805373952 Ukrainian helicopter crews remain active along the frontline with two videos showing both [Mi-24 Hind]() and [Mi-8/17 Hip]() operations. Footage from underneath a Hip’s tail boom shows the common [fast, low-level]() tactics required for survivability as well as firing [lofted]() 122mm S-13 rockets from two B-13 pods on the pylons. https://twitter.com/operativno\_ZSU/status/1611446506447413249 Another video shows both Hinds and Hips in action, with their rather eccentric crews lobbing rockets toward Russian positions with a wall of infrared flare countermeasures in their wake. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1611485170489610241 https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1611742790886608896 As Ukraine's NATO allies have[ suddenly decided it's time to donate]() heavy western armor to its cause, footage of tank-on-tank combat from a Russian drone has emerged. https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1611764893795102720 One of the scant few Russian [BMPT Terminator]() tank support fighting vehicles can be seen deployed near Svatove on the frontline’s northern flank. You can read more about these rare armored vehicles’ impressive short-range firepower in our story just before the invasion began [here](). https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1611667530791149568 It looks like a Ukrainian T-64BV and its Kontakt-1 explosive reactive armor (ERA) shrugged off a hit from a [Russian Lancet loitering munition]() with superficial damage. https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1611730203205636097 Russia’s most modern main battle tank remains a frequent sight on the frontline, with [T-90M]() tanks shown in the field with bagged soft armor and in the rear area training with drones. Further integrating tanks with drones, as the above battle video shows, can at least dramatically improve tankers’ situational awareness as well as correct indirect fire. https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1611768875514748932 The artillery duel is as fierce as ever with new and improved [M109A6 Paladin]() self-propelled howitzers on the way. For one Ukrainian crew, their 203mm [2S7 Pion]() self-propelled howitzer managed to fire itself out of its own barrel, possibly a result of age and a heavy volume of fire. https://twitter.com/666\_mancer/status/1611617635275517953 On the Russian side, video shows a 240mm 2S4 Tyulpan self-propelled mortar crew in action. Russia made [devastating use]() of this system in its prolonged siege of the [Azovstal]() steel plant in Mariupol last spring. https://twitter.com/RALee85/status/1611727035574910976 New U.S. sanctions are coming for Iran in response to its [continued supply]() of kamikaze drones to Russia. There has been talk that Iran has backed off sending ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine due to fear of additional sanctions. This could be a warning shot in that regard. https://twitter.com/SamRamani2/status/1611428607523491855 Ukrainian Navy EOD teams removed and detonated a floating mine in the waters off Odesa earlier this week, a reminder of the [lingering threat]() to shipping since the war began. https://twitter.com/Osinttechnical/status/1610764706121191430 A large number of Turkish-supplied BMC Kirpi MRAPs made an appearance in a Ukrainian column, some still sporting their desert camouflage paint as well as a Romanian remote control weapons system ([RCWS]()). https://twitter.com/UAWeapons/status/1611486180104888320 The British-donated [FV103 Spartan]() armored reconnaissance vehicle made its own appearance in a new video from the Ukrainian 67th Mechanized Brigade. With a top speed of 60 miles per hour and room for seven, it’s easy to see why Ukrainian forces would covet that kind of armored mobility. https://twitter.com/Militarylandnet/status/1611718060993290242 Away from the frontline, there’s sobering footage of a Ukrainian cemetery for soldiers killed in the war, the latest reminder of this conflict’s staggering human cost. https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1611443955261968388 To wrap up on a lighter note, the “Ukrainian meow brigade” has appeared, digital camo vest and all. https://twitter.com/DanaSLJL/status/1610259550900473857 That’s it for now. We will update this story when there is anything major to add. *Contact the author:* [*stetson.payne@thewarzone.com*]() ### Author social links