What happened? The theoretical capture of Soledar does not guarantee the russians the ability to surround Bakhmut.
Source. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Details. Analysts note that the occupation of the city will not allow the russian occupation forces to control critical Ukrainian ground lines of communication into Bakhmut, nor improve the position of russian troops around the city in the short term.
"Russian forces likely captured Soledar after committing significant resources to a highly attritional tactical victory which will accelerate degraded russian forces’ likely culmination near Bakhmut," ISW notes.