By late December, much of the fighting in the region centered around Bakhmut, with Soledar seen as a satellite stronghold protecting the city's northeastern flank and supply lines.

In late June and early July 2022, Luhansk Oblast fell under Russian control following the Ukrainian withdrawal from Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.

[23] The next day, Donetsk Oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said Russian forces had closed within 20 kilometers of Soledar, while shelling the settlement along with Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka.

[citation needed] Later that week, Russian and separatist forces had taken partial-to-full control of the Knauf Gips Donbas gypsum factory southeast of the settlement center.

[39] The fighting in Soledar was described in the media as "grueling" and typified by artillery duels between troops entrenched around strategic points, located near hedgerows and tree lines along swathes of farmland, all while civilians fled to underground shelters and basements to avoid bombardment.

[40][41] On 16 August, airstrikes and ground engagements continued around Soledar, and the LPR separatists claimed to have controlled most of the settlement's industrial zone, but there was no evidence they had advanced beyond the gypsum factory.

[55][56] The Wagner forces were led by frontline officer Anton Yelizarov, a paratrooper veteran who had "demonstrat[ed] competence across the shadow army's complete global portfolio".

"[58] On 14–16 December, Russian sources claimed that Wagner fighters had concluded clearing operations in Yakovlivka, allowing for further assaults along Soledar's northeastern flank.

[59] The capture of Yakovlivka prompted Ukraine to deploy a reserve battalion to Soledar to reinforce the front line, according to an LPR military officer.

Much of Soledar had been reduced to ruins amid continuous Russian shelling, air strikes, and minor ground assaults against Ukrainian resistance.

[63] Following the capture of Bakhmutske on 27 December,[62] Russian forces, spearheaded by Wagner Group fighters, began storming Soledar from the south and east.

[66] The Ukrainian General Staff claimed there were seventy-six artillery assaults on Soledar on 7 January alone, with the 46th Airmobile Brigade in charge of defending much of the settlement.

[85] On 16 January, The Kyiv Independent reported that Russian troops had full control over the administrative territory of Soledar, citing a Ukrainian military source.

Ukrainian drone unit commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi confirmed that Russia had captured Soledar's last industrial zone, located near mine #7.

[88] On 9 January 2023, two British nationals working with a humanitarian aid agency, Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, went missing while driving from Kramatorsk to Soledar.

[94] On 13 January, Ukraine claimed to have killed over 100 Russian soldiers in the Soledar area using various special forces actions, artillery fire, anti-tank units, and a Tochka-U missile.

[102] Following the capture of Bakhmutske and lack of momentum in Bakhmut in late December 2022, analysts believed Russia would transfer troops to launch an attack on Soledar in early January 2023.

[103][104] On 13 January, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov called the fighting "very difficult" and said aggressive tactics by PMC Wagner mercenaries resulted in high casualties.

[106] John Kirby of the U.S. National Security Council, who supports Ukraine, said on 12 January that "even if both Bakhmut and Soledar fall to the Russians, it's not going to have a strategic impact on the war itself".

[82] The Kyiv Independent reported on 22 January that the fall of Soledar was at least tactically significant and jeopardized Ukrainian positions defending Bakhmut's northern flank and supply routes.