A serviceman of the 24th Mechanized Brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces walks down a street, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine.
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Ukraine’s Army has retreated from a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesperson for the Khortytsua ground forces formation, said on Thursday.

A strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region which has been reduced to rubble under a months-long Russian assault, Chasiv Yar occupies a strategically elevated location. It lies a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle.

For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar and its fall puts nearby cities in jeopardy, compromises critical Ukrainian supply routes and brings Russia closer to its stated aim of seizing the entire Donetsk region.

Ukraine’s defensive positions in the town were “destroyed,” the spokesperson said, adding that there was a threat of serious casualties if troops remained in the area and that Russia did not leave “a single intact building.”

The intensity of Russian strikes on Ukraine’s defensive line in the area of Chasiv Yar has increased over the last month and the town that once had a population of 12,000 has been left deserted, Mr. Voloshyn said.

Other Russian attacks in recent weeks have focused on capturing nearby settlements that would allow them to advance to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the biggest cities in the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Donetsk region.

A serviceman walks down a street, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the frontline town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Russia said on Wednesday its forces had captured a district in the key hilltop town of Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow has been pressing for months.

The town, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, has strategic importance and its capture could allow Russia to mount further offensives across the region.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a daily briefing that its troops had “liberated the ‘Novy’ district of Chasiv Yar”, a neighbourhood on the eastern edge of the town.

Russia’s capture of the area was also reported by Ukraine’s DeepState Telegram channel, which has links to Kyiv’s Army.

It said the district had been flattened by Russian bombardments, and that withdrawing was “a logical, albeit difficult decision.”

It was unclear if Russia was claiming that its forces had crossed a canal that runs through the eastern part of the town, a natural barrier that has aided Ukraine’s defence.

Chasiv Yar lies around 10 km west of Bakhmut, which Russian forces captured last year after months of artillery strikes and urban combat destroyed the city.