Does the battle for Soledar mark a new phase in the war in Ukrain

From: Inside Story

Ukraine has refuted Russian claims its forces have captured the eastern town of Soledar.

Whatever the truth, fighting has been intense around what is Europe’s largest salt mine in eastern Ukraine’s Soledar.

Nearly all 11,000 inhabitants of the small town have left and almost everything above ground is destroyed.

So why has the fighting been so fierce, and does it signal a change in how this war is being fought?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Sergei Markov – Director of the Institute of Political Studies in Moscow, former spokesman for President Putin.

Michael Bociurkiw – Senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

Patrick Bury – Defence and security analyst at the University of Bath, former British army officer and NATO analyst.