Wagner Salivating Over Bakhmut's Salt Mines

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Kremlin’s Wagner mercenary group, is “obsessed” with capturing valuable salt and gypsum deposits near Bakhmut, the US has said, fueling vicious fighting, James Kilner reported for The Telegraph.

Photo Insert: Bakhmut’s salt mines are the biggest in Europe and contain 125 miles of tunnels.

White House officials said thousands of soldiers on both sides have now died in the town in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region because Prigozhin wants to capture mines for “monetary motives.”

Wagner’s determination to capture Bakhmut has baffled Western analysts because it holds little strategic value.

Wagner has operated since 2014 but the Kremlin had regarded it as a deniable asset doing its dirty work in the Middle East and Africa in exchange for riches. The US has accused Wagner mercenaries of human rights abuses and looting gold and diamond mines in the Central African Republic, Mali, and Sudan.

Bakhmut’s salt mines are the biggest in Europe and contain 125 miles of tunnels. The salt from Bakhmut is exported and used in several different ways, including as table salt. Gypsum is a soft sulfate material used mainly in construction and fertilizer products.

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