Pro-Russian Telegram channels – where the intel from the frontlines arrives faster than anywhere else – announce that the Russian Ground Assault into Chasov Yar, a key Ukrainian city in Donbas, has begun.
This battle will dictate the immediate future of the Russian Donetsk Oblast offensive, and may have a catastrophic effect to the already crumbling morale of the Ukrainian defenders.
It has been widely reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered his top General Oleksandr Syrsky to hold the city at all costs – at least until ‘Victory Day’, a Russian Holiday that is celebrated on May 9th.
Watch: Chasov Yar is destroyed.
Chasov Yar is destroyed. pic.twitter.com/VKbpBvD0nV
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) May 2, 2024
Chasov Yar has been pounded by airstrikes and artillery in a way that cities like Artemovsk (Bakhmut) were not. This is due to the depletion of Kiev’s air defenses, and also the new UMPC glide bombs that started to make a big difference as of late.
It’s been reported that Russian air forces are launching more than 30 powerful glide bombs every day. These glide bombs used to be Soviet-era ‘dumb bombs’ that were ingeniously retrofitted with wings and navigation systems that allow precise targeting.
Watch: Russian air force pounds military positions in the city.
La aviación de ataque del Grupo Sur de las Fuerzas Armadas “prepara” Chasov Yar antes del inicio de los combates urbanos: imágenes de las tripulaciones de los Su-25 bombardeando las posiciones de las Fuerzas Armadas de Ucrania, que aguardan la rendición de la ciudad.… pic.twitter.com/JRMmYZRGLd
— RedScorpion (Z) (@KrasnyySkorpion) April 25, 2024
Watch: artillery strikes on defensive positions.
Chasov Yar. Ataque a escondites de militantes ucranianos. pic.twitter.com/f7oxnIOtOo
— Иван Титов (@IvanTitov549528) April 29, 2024
While Russia launches its attack on the city, the exhausted, under-equipped and outmaneuvered Ukrainian brigades struggle to hold the line.
Financial Times reported:
“Up to 25,000 Russian troops have been deployed near the town in recent weeks, according to a spokesperson for Ukraine’s ground forces in the east. In other flashpoints along the frontline, Moscow’s army is also pressing ahead, seeking to capture as much territory as it can before the arrival of western kit.
[…] Chasiv Yar is seen as a key prize for Moscow, with senior Ukrainian commanders claiming the Russian general staff has ordered its forces to seize it by May 9 when Russia celebrates the end of the second world war. The Kremlin has previously justified its invasion of Ukraine as an attempt at ‘denazification’, and symbolically tied the war to the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany.
But the small town’s importance is strategic rather than symbolic, analysts and Ukrainian servicemen say. A Ukrainian retreat from Chasiv Yar could jeopardise the entire defence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbas. Sat on top of a hill, the city provides Ukraine with one of the last natural barriers protecting important supply lines and, 30 kilometres to the north, the regional capital of Kramatorsk.
‘Chasiv Yar is a centre of gravity for the defensive line in the region’, said Viktor Kevliuk, a military analyst for the Centre for Defence Strategies, a Kyiv-based security think-tank.”
Watch: Ukrainian defenders run among the ruins.
Ucranianos translocam-se entre residências em Chasov Yar pic.twitter.com/QdQ72TkPO2
— Militar.Ru (@militar_ru) April 30, 2024
Anne Nivat on French TV LCI.
Slavyangrad on Telegram:
“French war correspondent Anne Nivat, speaking on the LCI TV channel, explained how leaving the city threatens the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
‘If the Russians manage to take control of Chasov Yar, they will be able to move to higher ground, from where they can launch artillery strikes’, Niva said.
According to her, shelling of Konstantinovka, where the railway junction is located, which is one of the key elements of Ukrainian logistics, will pose a particularly great danger to Kiev.”
Ukrainian-Russian war. Day 798:
Situation east of Chasov Yar: During the last hours #RussianArmy took control over the remaining areas of Mount Baba. The intensive bombardment forces #UkrainianArmy to withdraw to the trenches of the water channel. In addition, clashes between… pic.twitter.com/M3zbC7xcB8
— @Suriyak (@Suriyakmaps) May 1, 2024
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The post BREAKING: Ground Assault on Chasov Yar Begins – Russian Forces Enter Key Donbas City From Three Directions! (VIDEOS) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.
