According to a Ukrainian battalion commander, Russian forces have been making tactical gains in Donetsk Oblast’s Chasiv Yar sector since March. The town is strategically important, as it is at a commanding height in the area, and its capture would allow the Russian military to target nearby cities such as Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka.
Chasiv Yar is situated west of Bakhmut City, which fell to Russians in April 2023, after they employed the “meat-wave assault” tactics of repeated frontal assaults for several months. After the fall of Avdiivka, some 50 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut, following months of the same tactics reinforced with intense air strikes, the Russian forces switched their focus in Donetsk Oblast back to the Bakhmut direction and intensified attacks in the direction of Chasiv Yar.
Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the Achilles unmanned aerial vehicle battalion of the Ukrainian Army’s 92nd Brigade, stated in an interview with Liga that the Russian forces are conducting assault operations towards Bohdanivka, Ivanivske, Klishchiivka, and Andriivka, in addition to their push towards Chasiv Yar. However, the commander noted that while the Russians have achieved some tactical successes in Chasiv Yar, these gains are not “maximally critical” at this stage.
Fedorenko reported that the Russian forces have had no tactical successes in Bohdanivka for the last three weeks: about 20% of the settlement is under occupation, while the rest is under the control of the Defense Forces.
Another hot and “very complex” spot is Ivanivka Village, where about a month ago, the Russians managed to capture one of the outer streets, since then there have been active battles, Fedorenko explained.
“The Russians are advancing, occupying up to 60% of the village. Then we push them back. This ‘migration’ continues constantly. At this moment, more than half of Ivanivka is still under Russian occupation,” he concluded.
- On 4 January 2024, a representative of Ukraine’s Ground Forces reported that Chasiv Yar was the next target of the occupiers, with their minimum objective being to capture the city for further attacks and to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk Oblast.
- On 8 February, the then commander of the Ground Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that the occupiers were attempting to break through the Ukrainian defense in the Chasiv Yar area.
- In early March, the UK Defense Ministry stated that Russian forces were continuing attacks near Bakhmut and occupied parts of Ivanivske, with the objective of seizing Chasiv Yar, but it considered a full-scale assault unlikely at the moment, despite gradual gains.
- In late March, the ISW stated that the Russian seizure of Chasiv Yar would be more operationally significant than their seizure of Avdiivka, but “Russian forces will not take Chasiv Yar rapidly if they can take it at all.”
- On 6 April, Russian propagandists claimed that the occupiers entered the suburbs of Chasiv Yar, but the spokesperson of the Operational Command “East” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces refuted this claim, saying that “The situation there is very difficult, the fighting continues, but they [Russian troops] are not there. Don’t believe the Russian reports.”
Read also:
- Russians poised for street battles in Chasiv Yar; Robotyne at risk – Deep State analysts
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Frontline report: Ukraine tries to defend heights around Bohdanivka in fierce fighting
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Frontline report: Russians advance 1 km towards Chasiv Yar employing scorched earth tactics
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ISW: Russian seizure of Chasiv Yar would be more operationally significant than the Russian seizure of Avdiivka
