Ukrainian forces report intense battles near key town as Russian advance looms

Russia is attempting to advance towards Chasiv Yar, strategically important town near Bakhmut, causing heavy battles between Bogdanivka and Ivanivske.

Russia is aggressively trying to move toward the strategically important town of Chasiv Yar, where “fierce battles” have been recorded by the Ukrainian troops in the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Heavy battle is taking place between Bogdanivka and Ivanivske, according to army spokesperson Ilya Yevlash, and Ukrainian soldiers are under heavy fire.

Strategically significant, Chasiv Yar is located near Bakhmut, which was taken up by Russian troops in May 2023. The pressure on Kramatorsk, the last significant city in the Donbas region under Ukrainian control, would increase if Russia were to push in this direction. The city has recently been subject to increased bombing.

Yevlash saw that the enemy was bringing in attack units and reserving soldiers. With Bakhmut gone, Ukrainian troops withdrew to Chasiv Yar, where Ivanivske and Bogdanivka were just a few kilometers distant. Chasiv Yar, which had 12,000 residents before the war, is now home to just a few hundred people and is often targeted by Russian troops.

Chasiv Yar is strategically significant in the battle since it is close to Kramatorsk, the main administrative hub of Ukraine for the Donetsk region, which is around 25 kilometers away.

Along the front, Ukrainian officials officially announced their evacuation from Stepove, Sieverne, and Lastochkyne villages close to Avdiivka. This pullback signals a change in the region’s territorial dynamics following Russia’s assertion of sovereignty over Avdiivka earlier this month. 

Source: AFP