Russia liberates key Donbass stronghold – MOD
Russian forces have liberated Chasov Yar, a pivotal Ukrainian stronghold in Russia’s Donetsk Region, after months of fighting, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said.
In a statement on Thursday, the ministry said the town had been taken as a result of offensive operations by the ‘South’ grouping of forces advancing towards the cities of Kramatorsk and Druzhkovka.
A TASS source said Russian troops in Chasov Yar have destroyed “perhaps the largest [Ukrainian] force in the history of the special operation.” “It is literally thousands of enemy personnel,” he added.
Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to the head of the Donetsk People Republic, said “the fall of Chasov Yar essentially leads to the collapse of [Ukrainian] defenses in Konstantinovka, and then Druzhkovka and Slaviansk.”
Chasov Yar has long been one of Ukraine’s best fortified positions in Donbass, situated on elevated ground and bisected by the Seversky Donets-Donbass Canal. Control of the city affords artillery dominance over supply routes toward the key regional cities of Kramatorsk and Slaviansk. It has also been a critical logistical hub for Ukrainian forces in the area.
Kiev has not confirmed the loss of the city, although the Ukrainian military Telegram channel DeepState shows Chasov Yar being under almost total Russian control.
Hostilities around Chasov Yar began in early April 2024, shortly after Russian forces captured Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) located approximately 10km to the east.
The rugged terrain, riven with river valleys, ravines, and more than 30 ponds and water bodies, heavily favored Ukrainian forces. The past several weeks have seen intense street fighting in the city itself.
