'underground city' carved from salt that Russia and Ukraine are battling over

In recent days the war in Ukraine has revolved around the salt-mining town of Soledar in the east of the country.

Russia claimed on Friday that it had seized the town. The founder of the paramilitary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, claimed earlier this week that his troops had achieved the rare victory without any involvement from Russia's official military and pictures emerged of him and his troops inside the Soledar's famous salt mines.

Russia's defense ministry later credited the group with leading the attack after days of public sparring in a surprising concession.

Meanwhile, Kyiv has denied that Russia has taken full control of Soledar.

Officials in the US have speculated that Russia, particularly the Wagner Group, has aimed to capture the town to gain control of its valuable salt and gypsum resources for financial purposes.Before the war the mined galleries of salt, had been convertor into a magical buried world.Look inside the town's vast salt mines, where Ukraine has previously hosted symphonies, soccer games, the inflation of a hot air balloon, and more.

The vast salt mines are owned by state enterprise Artemsil, which was one the biggest producers of salt in Europe, but halted operations following Russia's invasion in February. 

It has produced more than 280 million tonnes of salt since mining began in the town in the late 19th century, according to Reuters.

The miles of vast galleries that the mining activity left have been converted into an "underground city," according to tourist guides that predate the war.

The subterranean world included a concert hall, a soccer field

The mines can be up to 1,000 feet deep and its mined tunnels have a combined length of 186 miles, Reuters reported, citing a local tourist website. Huge deposits remain are still to be mined.

The health benefits of salt are well known and the mines' micro-climate also combines with the healing process.

Near the tourist route there is a speleo-sanitarium where people are treated for bronchial conditions, asthma, chronic pneumonia, some forms of psoriasis, weak immunity, and thyroid diseases.

, a church, a bar, and a health spa.

Capturing Soledar's mines, among the largest in Europe, could serve a financial purpose for Russia. The salt from Soledar is known to be very pure.

However, it is unlikely that the current conflict conditions would allow salt mining to restart.

The United States has previously accused mercenaries from the Wagner Group of exploiting natural resources in African countries, including the Central African Republic, Mali, and Sudan, to help fund Moscow's war in Ukraine.

Russia has rejected those accusations as being "anti-Russian rage."