Defence of Soledar, potential encirclement and risks for Bakhmut. Interview with Oleksandr Pohrebyskyi, soldier of the 46th Brigade

Soldar, a city of 10,000 people in Donetsk Oblast, which last autumn was considered an impregnable site on the Bakhmut front has become the hottest spot on the front over the past two weeks.   Wagnerites [fighters of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company] who are holding the front from the Russian side have broken through the city's defences and started street combat. At one stage, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, including the 46th Separate Airmobile Brigade, was very close to being encircled. 

Reports regarding the Ukrainian forces' response to such an enhanced offensive and potential encirclement vary. 

The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has been stating for a few days now that Russians will not manage to capture the city, whereas analysts of the Deep State Map project have detected Wagnerites in the downtown area of Soledar using open source data.  Ukrainska Pravda's sources among soldiers also diverge in the information they provide. Some of them report that the Ukrainian army has already left the city, others argue that a fierce battle to defend Soledar is still continuing on its outskirts. 

The phrase "Heavy fighting is ongoing" is a compromise used by both official and unofficial sources.  The only question is at which front line it is ongoing.  Ukrainska Pravda asked Oleksandr Pohrebyskyi, a sergeant of the Air Assault Forces and a member of Kyiv City Council representing the European Solidarity party, about the situation in Soledar. 

Pohrebyskyi was defending the city as a member of the 46th Brigade that is holding Soledar with great effort before he contracted a severe cough and hypothermia two days ago.

Operational situation in Soledar

- Mr Oleksandr, thank you for agreeing to talk. I will start with the main question: who is currently controlling Soledar? - The Armed Forces of Ukraine have the situation completely under control [the conversation was recorded at 12:00 on 11 January - ed.].

It is inappropriate to reveal the current situation as the fighting is ongoing. If you follow the enemy's statements, this is slightly ridiculous, as it sometimes happens that a group of Wagnerites enters a building in an industrial district and records a video for themselves before we "smoke them out". The next day, we find out that they are Cargo 200 [the military code for dead soldiers]. 

Combat actions and operations are ongoing there at the moment. If I tell in detail what and how, I will harm the guys. But the Armed Forces of Ukraine are in control of the situation.

- "Fighting is ongoing" - that is, the city is not occupied by Russians?  - No. - Can you say what percentage of the city is currently controlled by the Ukrainian army?

- It would be inappropriate. Moreover, the situation can change in half a day, the situation is fluid. - Are you in Soledar now?

- I was evacuated two days ago with hypothermia (in some places of the Donetsk region it is -17? C, which is 1.4? F - Ukrainska Pravda) and a contusion (Oleksandr coughs severely) .

There was a tubed artillery attack on us, but after that, I was still in charge of my people. Then I started shaking badly due to hypothermia, and I couldn't do anything about it.

- How do you and your brothers in arms deal emotionally with such a difficult defence of the city? - Our brigade is already known as the steel brigade, because we have the best guys (smiles - UP). They are highly motivated and feel the support of the command.

Our commanders, combatants, and a brigade commander are always with us on combat missions. In our country, if a unit works, absolutely everyone fights. - And are the majority of you mobilised?

- About 80% of us are mobilised. Our first team consisted mainly of the operational reserve of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' airborne assault troops, i.e. people who served in the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces before the start of the full-scale war. For example, I served in the 95th [95th Air Assault Brigade -ed.].

But after the assaults in the south, the liberation of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, and the exit to the Dnipro (River), we had many wounded. That is why we were joined by many new, young guys without experience. But a strong leadership (thanks to the brigade commander here) inspires trust in the commanders and motivates people to continue to the very end.

Everyone knows that he won't be abandoned.  - Is the 46th Brigade currently the only one mounting the defence of Soledar? - No, there are neighbours [other units], but we have shown the highest efficiency.

Probability of encirclement and quality of Russian forces

- The potential encirclement of the city has been actively discussed for several days.

As a person from inside these defences, can you tell me whether it is possible? - It was, but we are fixing the situation. Our unit did not sit back and did not go anywhere.

We were standing, and we stand. Our brigade has very powerful battle management: all the commanders are in their places and we have well-organised logistics, surveillance, and intelligence. This allows us to maintain our positions around the clock.

We even planned an assault, i.e. to regain positions. But the situation was such that our neighbouring units on the right and left were not as effective as we were. Therefore, the enemy managed to bypass us on the flanks.

That is, yes, it (potential encirclement - UP) was possible, but now the situation is changing.

- And, in your opinion, is the situation changing for the better? - Yes, so far the dynamics are positive. Let's see what happens next.

The Russians' tactics are to throw their own people - both "convicts" and mercenaries of the Wagner PMC - to their deaths. As far as I have seen their "Cargo 200", they did not even have any first-aid kits. One of their cars broke through with ammunition, in a move that simply amounted to suicide...

When we approached them, the dead, we saw that the driver was there, the other soldiers were without body armour, without helmets, each with one ammunition clip in the machine gun. In very close infantry battles, we heard the Russian commanders shouting: "Don't take a step back, we'll shoot." We heard it and saw it with our own eyes. The sounds of the wounded convicts could be heard by our guys through the walls - they said that they had been paid £400 for a "one-way ticket".

- There was also information that the Russians had transferred additional paratrooper units to the Bakhmut front. Have you faced them? - No, we haven't seen any paratroopers.

As for the assault groups, that is, the infantry, who engage in combat actions at close range (20-30 metres), we do not see any military personnel among them at all. Perhaps somewhere on the second line they are arranging support for infantry groups, but the infantry groups themselves are exclusively "cannon fodder". I don't know how many of them we have killed.

Two days ago there was a powerful infantry attack... I don't know why they are doing it, but they ought to draw their conclusions. What's the point?

- Has the option of retreating from the city been discussed in order to avoid encirclement? - I am the chief sergeant of the company, and such things are not discussed with me. The command probably had discussed it, and different options are being prepared.

- And is the Bakhmut-Siversk highway, which passes through Soledar, currently under fire control by the Russians? - Minus [i.e "no" in military slang - ed.]. There was a period when that was the case, but as far as I know, the situation has stabilised.

- Does that mean the logistics are still working? Is there a way to transport ammunition and people? - Everything, absolutely everything, is working on this front.

The reasons for the breach of Soledar's defences and the impact of its possible occupation on Bakhmut

- Since August, Soledar has been an almost impregnable fortress on the Bakhmut front, in particular, thanks to the efforts of the 93rd Brigade. At what point did the situation deteriorate sharply? What went wrong?

- As far as I know, the 93rd Brigade is a very powerful, mechanised unit with combat experience on the Donetsk front, Opytne, and the battle of Donetsk Airport [in 2014]. They have a lot of experience in both defensive and offensive actions. Therefore, when they hold their lines, it is no problem for them to restrain the enemy.

I understand that rotation with new rifle units and infantry brigades can often pose a problem with management and command. I cannot say that this is anyone's fault, because all these units are in a dynamic process of formation, and some commanders may not have combat experience. But from what I see, the command is trying to combine experienced units and send experienced brigades quickly to places where there are problems.

- According to my information, it was a surprise for the Ukrainian military that the Russians broke through the flanks from Yakovlivka, which is located north of Soledar, and Pidhorodne, which is south of Soledar. Do I understand correctly that the newly formed units were sent to these areas? - Yes.

- So Soledar's defences were breached because soldiers deployed to some parts of the front have not been properly trained? - This might be true, but I haven't visited those units and I don't know first-hand how well-trained they were. In every military unit, effective communication, good management, competent commanders and people's emotional and psychological state are of utmost importance.

All of these things have to be taken care of before the unit in question is deployed to hotspots. - When did the escalation in Soledar begin?

Around New Year's? - Around then, because on 31 December we received an order to set out on 1 January and assume our positions. We couldn't even properly celebrate the New Year. [smiling - UP]

At the time, we'd literally just got back from Kurdiumivka [a village situated on a high point south of Bakhmut - ed.] where we successfully stormed enemy positions. We were right next to Kurdiumivka, to be precise: we regained control of the area and consolidated our positions; then we were replaced by infantry units. - Since you mentioned Kurdiumivka, could you tell me about the situation to the south of Bakhmut?

Is it true that Russian forces are deployed mostly along the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal and were able to cross it in several places? - We're no longer there, but from what I see on the maps I can say that yes, that's true. But this hasn't yielded any great strategic results for them; if anything, it has depleted their infantry.

Strategically speaking, we have been winning ever since enemy forces withdrew from Kyiv Oblast. I don't understand the Russians' actions on the Donetsk front from a strategic point of view. They seem only to yield political benefits for individuals such as [Yevgeny] Prigozhin, who wants to curry favour with Putin and prove that the Wagner Group is more effective than regular Russian forces.

But it's an illusion. I am certain that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will soon put an end to this narrative. - Last question: if Russian forces manage to capture Soledar, how would this affect the defence of Bakhmut, which is currently seen as the fortress of the east?

- It would have no effect from a tactical perspective. I can't see how it could help them encircle Bakhmut or gain control of the [Bakmut-Siversk] road. Olha Kyrylenko, Ukrainska Pravda

Translation: Myroslava Zavadska, Elina Beketova, Anton Strii, Olya Loza 

Editing: Monica Sandor