The Russians “step on the corpses of their fellow soldiers”

The small town of Soledar was home to about 10,000 people. This summer, the war reached the city limits, and in recent days, the industrial city has been the scene of fierce and bloody battles.

Russian soldiers “literally step on the corpses of their fellow soldiers”, writes Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar in her description of the “battle for Soledar” on Telegram.

The salt mining town has thus become part of a wider Russian offensive, heading towards the city of Bakhmut, an important hub that connects the five important cities of Luhansk, Lysytjansk, Slovjansk, Kramatorsk and Donetsk together.

British intelligence casts doubt on a Russian conquest of Bakhmut.

Covered in corpses

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that the fighting in Soledar is “extremely difficult” for Ukrainian forces, but that the resistance shown in the city has given “extra time and extra power for Ukraine”.

– Everything is completely destroyed – there is almost no life left, he writes.

The Ukrainian head of state also claims that thousands of fighters on the Russian side have been killed there.

– The whole country near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the airstrikes, he writes.

– This is what madness looks like.

Wagner’s role

Soledar, which is 10 kilometers from Bakhmut, is probably under the control of the Russians. Norwegian experts believe that the Russian progress offers little, if any, advantages.

Among other things, mercenaries from the Wagner group are represented here.

Businessman Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, known as the owner of the Wagner group and as “Putin’s chef”, emphasized on 9 January that soldiers from the Wagner group had moved into Soledar.

Furthermore, he pointed out that Wagner soldiers were engaged in “hard battles for the city’s administration building”.

And while both Ukrainian and Russian authorities have said that several Russian military units are in place around Soledar, Prigozhin claimed that the Wagner Group is alone in fighting the Ukrainians in the area.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, wrote in its analysis on Monday that Prigozhin “continues to use reports of the Wagner Group’s success at Soledar to bolster the Wagner Group’s reputation as an effective fighting force.”

– Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin has room for action because Russia is in a pressured situation, says Tom Røseth, head teacher in intelligence at the Norwegian Defense Academy, to TV 2.

For President Vladimir Putin, Prigozhin is a benevolent actor; he both talks up the war and offers a military effort – despite the risk of heavy losses – in areas where it is difficult for the Ukrainians to enter with the same effort.

– The war effort and willingness to sacrifice that the Wagner group has shown has been important for the Russian side. They have played a role beyond what the armed, regular units have done, with a greater media focus, but also with some success along the front, Røseth explains.

Cannon fodder

An American official tells the major newspaper New York Times that Russian prison inmates have been given a new role in Wagner’s offensive.

Russian inmates, recruited by Prigozhin, were told last autumn about a tough war in which deserters are executed. But also about the possibility of amnesty, because in return for six months of service in his army he promised freedom.

If one died, he promised a funeral.

Read also: – Recruits soldiers in a psychiatric hospital

As the Ukrainians and Russians exchange thousands of rounds of artillery fire, the Wagner group has used its soldiers as “cannon fodder,” an anonymous official told the NY Times.

– The recruited prisoners mainly take the brunt of Ukrainian fire, while the group’s more experienced soldiers are moved in behind them to take ground control, the official said.

High risk of death

According to Tom Røseth, at some point during the war there was a change of pace, where the mercenaries took on a rougher role.

– In the initial phase of the war, communication between various groups, including the regular army, Wagner and the Chechens, was failing. They had different roles, and where the regular groups to a greater extent took the rough work, while Wagner and the Chechens stepped in when the risk was lower.

Now the situation has completely turned around: the Wagner group, and perhaps especially criminal recruits, have to take on high-risk operations, Røseth points out. This is due to the recruitment platform of the private military company.

– While Wagner previously consisted of professional mercenaries, they are now characterized by the fact that they recruit inferior personnel, including from Russian prisons. When you enter Wagner now, it is with a high risk of death, but where you are promised freedom if you survive.

At the same time, Røseth thinks that the Russians’ offensive looks somewhat more coordinated now, also in Solidar.

– We see, for example, that Russian infantry are covered with artillery fire before they move in to overpower Ukrainian positions.

Since June, Wagner has recruited at least 35,000 prisoners, according to an estimate from Russia Behind Bars – a non-governmental organization that aims to provide legal and humanitarian assistance to citizens facing Russian investigations and the prison system.

In addition, at least 300,000 Russians have been mobilized into the Russian armed forces. In the past, the two independent Russian media have Novaya Gazeta, Medusa and senior researcher Una Hakvåg at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, on the other hand, took the floor that far more people could be mobilised.