Situated in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the city was formerly highly important for its salt mining industry, from which its name Soledar is derived.

[3][4] During the second half of the 17th century, the Don Cossacks settled in the region of Donbas, building a village at the site what is now known as of Soledar and naming it Brіantsіvka (Ukrainian: Брянцівка, Russian: Брянцовка).

[12] In February 2014, the pro-Russian Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych was removed from power as a result of the Euromaidan protests and subsequent Revolution of Dignity.

[13] Soledar would remain under the control of pro-Russian rebels for around 3 months, without being a central theatre of events, as nearby Sloviansk and Donetsk were.

[16] In August 2014, Soledar was used as the base for the identification team and OSCE observers dealing with the MH17 plane crash due to its proximity to the site.

The press service of political party Batkivshchyna said the criminals who killed him, who were now in custody, had been ordered to do so by the pro-Russian separatists while they controlled Soledar.

[6][12] In July 2022, France 24 reported that Soledar was under constant shelling and was largely destroyed, with the remaining population of 2,000 people experiencing a dire living situation.

[28] By the end of the battle, the settlement was almost entirely destroyed, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky saying that "barely any walls in Soledar remain[ed] standing".

[29] According to Donetsk Oblast governor Pavlo Kyrylenko, of the pre-invasion population of 10,490,[1] only "559 civilians including 15 children" remained in the settlement by 13 January.

After the Russian capture of the city, Donetsk People's Republic head Pushilin, in his late January 2023 visit, stated that the salt mines were "damaged and difficult to descend into".

[40] The Germany-based company Knauf Gips Donbas owns a factory in Soledar that produced plasterboard, and into which they invested tens of millions of dollars.

[41] Soledar's salt-mining industry created an "underground city" of caves, and tunnels[34] that Deutsche Welle described as a "magnet for tourists" prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Guided tours went to as deep as 200–300 metres (660–980 ft), with attractions including sculptures made of salt crystals, a museum, and a church.

[11] The expansive tunnels have been the site of numerous publicity stunts and events, including classical music concerts, a soccer match, and the first ever underground hot air balloon flight.

[11] This practice is part of the controversial halotherapy industry, in which it is believed that the inhalation of salt dust is a "miracle cure for respiratory illnesses".

[38] The Sil [uk] (Ukrainian: Сіль; Russian: Соль, romanized: Sol, both literally translated as "Salt") railway station is located 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) northwest of the center of Soledar.

[44][12] The Dekonska [uk] (Ukrainian: Деконська) railway station, located 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) to the south of the centre of Soledar, is another formerly separate settlement that is now part of the city.

[46] In 2000, a Ukrainian scientist proposed using Soledar's salt mines as a nuclear waste disposal site, believing that the inert environment would be useful.

However residents of Soledar and the surrounding area, including Bakhmut, opposed the proposal, holding rallies and writing letters to authorities.