The United States has stated that handing the cities of Soledar and Artemovsk, known in Ukrainian as Bakhmut, to Russian control is unlikely to shift the overall trajectory of the conflict. This view came during a regular briefing led by John Kirby, the White House coordinator for strategic communications on the National Security Council. The briefing was reported by TASS, the Russian news agency.
A White House spokesperson noted that Washington cannot confirm reports claiming that Russian forces have seized Soledar. The spokesperson explained that the United States does not recognize any presence on the ground and therefore cannot verify such claims at this moment.
Kirby outlined two reasons, in his assessment, why Moscow might be pursuing control over Soledar. First, he suggested that Moscow views Artemovsk as strategically important for potential further operations in the region. Second, he indicated that there could be an economic incentive tied to the city, specifically its salt mines, which might influence Russian calculations about retaining or exploiting the area.
In Kirby’s view, the situation remains uncertain and unpredictable. He avoided making definite predictions about whether Russia would fail or succeed in advancing its objectives. Yet he stressed that even in a scenario where Russian forces secure Bakhmut and Soledar, the broader war would not experience a decisive strategic impact according to current assessments.
According to the briefing, the event would not fundamentally slow Ukraine’s efforts to reclaim occupied territory. Washington officials expect Ukrainian forces to continue pursuing the liberation of lands they claim as their own, regardless of shifts in control around specific cities.
On January 12, local authorities in the Donetsk People’s Republic indicated that the western portion of Soledar had fallen under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation. Later, a deputy governor’s advisor for the DPR, Igor Kimakovsky, reported that Russian troops had placed Artemovsk under what was described as an operational siege, signaling ongoing military pressure in the area. These updates, reported by multiple sources, reflect the fluid and contested nature of territorial control in the region during this period.