Why Russia is determined to win the stronghold of Chasov Yar

Controlling Chasov Yar, with its higher position than the surrounding area, would give Russia a wide path to attack a series of neighboring cities that Ukraine is holding.

Russia’s elite airborne troops are closing in on the eastern edge of Chasov Yar, a town about 12 kilometers west of Bakhmut. Ukraine’s top commander says Russia wants to take control of Chasov Yar by May 9, the anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.

Russian forces continuously used artillery, glide bombs and drones to attack enemy defensive positions in Chasov Yar, a city considered to be of strategic importance to Ukraine.

If it controls Chasov Yar, Russian forces could launch direct attacks on the remaining Ukrainian strongholds in the area. Russia appears to be encircling Ukraine from three sides, east, south, and north, forcing them to retreat westward.

Russian T-72 tanks fire at Ukrainian positions on April 1. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense

Russian media reported that Russian soldiers began calling on Ukrainian soldiers at Chasov Yar to surrender or be destroyed by glide bombs, a powerful weapon that Russia has recently widely used.

Chasov Yar, which means “quiet gorge”, had a population of more than 12,000 before the war and now has only about 1,000. The city in Donetsk Oblast, located in the Donbass industrial region, is a place for the production of reinforced concrete products, mining and production of refractory clay products.

With its higher terrain than the surrounding area, Chasov Yar became a staging point and forward artillery base for the Ukrainian army. This caused Russia to continuously attack Chasov Yar and cause heavy damage to the city.

Russian military experts say that if they capture Chasov Yar, the Russian army can approach a series of other strongholds such as Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Druzhkovka and Konstantinovka. Kramatorsk is the last major city that Ukraine still controls in Donetsk province.

The cities of Bakhmut/Artemovsk, Chasov Yar, Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Druzhkovka and Konstantinovka. Graphics: RYV

The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the above series of cities are the backbone of Ukraine's defense system in the east.

"The offensive effort to capture Chasov Yar offers Russian forces the most immediate prospects for making significant progress in combat operations," ISW said, warning that losing Druzhkovka and Konstantinovka would be "a major and irreversible setback for Ukraine."

Casualties on both sides in the battle for Bakhmut and Avdeevka are estimated to be very high. Sergey Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said the offensive against Chasov Yar would be no less difficult than the attempt to storm the strongholds of Bakhmut and Avdeevka.

Russian VDV units are trying to close in on Chasov Yar, said Alexander Kots, a correspondent for the Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

“To enter Chasov Yar, they needed to flatten the flanks and encircle the city, then simultaneously open the entrance from different directions,” Kots said. “This spread the enemy forces in the city thin, forcing them to move in different directions under constant fire from the Russian forces.”

Russian BM-27 rocket artillery attacked Ukrainian positions on March 8. Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense

Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military, warned that Russian forces after capturing Chasov Yar "will have the opportunity to attack Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Druzhkovka and Konstantinovka".

"These are the last Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region," Voloshyn said, referring to the four cities. "Chasov Yar is the highest point in the region. Control of the city will significantly simplify the Russian advance in the direction of Kramatorsk, Slavyansk and Konstantinovka."

Nguyen Tien (According to Reuters, AFP, Politico )

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