Images Show Soledar Before and After Devastating Destruction During War

Months of bloody battles in the Ukrainian town of Soledar have left it demolished even while battles continue. Soledar, located along the front lines of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, is in the Donetsk Oblast of the eastern region in Ukraine.

Recent satellite images from Maxar Technologies show before and after images of Soledar, a salt mining town on the outskirts of Bakhmut, where more intense fighting has happened. One image from Soledar is from August 2022 while the other is from earlier this month. One has lush, green grass and buildings, homes and schools standing. In the other photo, a snow-covered area is dotted with remnants of shellacked buildings barely still standing.

Here's what Maxar tweeted Wednesday displaying their images.

Russia has previously said wins in Bakhmut and Soledar are pivotal in their country's advancements in Ukraine. Russian state TV claimed the country said it has already son Solledar, but Ukraine refutes that claim.

"Units of the Wagner private military company have taken the entire territory of Soledar under their control," TASS reported Tuesday night. "The city center has been surrounded, and urban warfare is under way. The number of captives will be announced tomorrow."

Ukraine's Prava also shows these images.

They later reported that 500 Ukrainian fighters remained trapped in the city, to which Ukraine officials say is false.

Dr. Marina Miron of the Center for Military Ethics at King's College London, told Newsweek Wednesday that a win in this area for Russia would be huge for them, including a big morale boost for Russian troops.

"Politically, it would be a massive win for Prigozhin, who has been gaining political traction in the past months. On the one hand, this victory would reinforce his position; on the other, it would boost the morale of the Russian troops after a series of setbacks and territorial losses," Miron said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week painted a grim picture of Soledar, a town that was home to about 10,000 of his countrymen.

"The whole land near Soledar is covered with the corpses of the occupiers and scars from the strikes," Zelensky said Monday night while also saying this "is what madness looks like."

The war is entering its 323rd day this week and Russia has lost nearly 113,000 soldiers since their invasion on February 24, 2022.

Zelensky has called Russia the "evil and darkness" that invaded his country, and he vowed Ukraine would use the "wisdom of God" to overcome it.

"Isn't this what evil and darkness, which have taken up arms against us, want in their essence? We have been resisting them for more than three hundred days and eight years," Zelensky said. "And will we allow them to achieve what they want?