By V.E.K.Madhushani, Jadetimes News
Intense Clashes and Adverse Conditions Persist on the Frontlines
Fighting around a strategic town in eastern Ukraine has become "extremely difficult," according to a Ukrainian military unit redeployed to defend it. Officials from Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade reported they have been sent to the town of Chasiv Yar as Russia continues to launch "mass frontal attacks" on this key settlement.
Chasiv Yar, located to the west of Bakhmut, has been the focus of intense Russian attacks since February, following the fall of nearby Avdiivka to Moscow's forces. This redeployment comes amid Moscow's claim that it had shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones in parts of Russia and occupied Crimea overnight, with one person reportedly killed in the attack.
Russia's advance in the Donbas has been steadily gaining momentum since the beginning of 2024, with Kyiv's under resourced forces struggling to hold the line. When Russia launched its full scale invasion in February 2022, its declared goal was to seize the entire Donbas region, comprising Donetsk and Luhansk.
Moscow's forces have concentrated their recent attacks on Chasiv Yar, which had a pre war population of around 12,000. Losing this hilltop town would make Ukrainian cities in Donbas even more vulnerable to Russian attack. According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian capture of Chasiv Yar would be “operationally significant,” providing Moscow's forces with favorable positions to launch offensives against Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka, cities forming the southern portion of a Ukrainian defensive belt.
Since dawn on Friday, Russia has made three attempts to approach troops near Chasiv Yar and Klishchiivka, according to Ukraine’s General Staff. The 24th Mechanized Brigade, which has been redeployed to Chasiv Yar, said on Thursday evening "The situation in and around the town is extremely difficult." They added that Russian forces were “mercilessly shelling” the area and organizing massive frontal assaults while attempting to bypass the settlement from the north and south.
Ukraine's setbacks over the past several months have prompted the US to re evaluate its position on the use of donated weapons against Russian territory. The Pentagon granted permission to Kyiv's forces to launch US supplied weapons at military targets in Russia anywhere across the border, not just in Russian territory near Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine. This authorization, given by President Joe Biden last month, initially applied to targets near the city but has now been extended beyond that area.
In another development, authorities in Selydove, a town further south in the Donetsk region, reported two people killed and three wounded in a Russian airstrike. The regional governor has called for people to evacuate. Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had shot down more than 100 Ukrainian drones and destroyed six unmanned boats in a wave of overnight attacks. Officials in Krasnodar, one of the most heavily targeted regions, said administrative buildings at an oil refinery in Ilsky were set alight. Two people were injured, and the fire has since been extinguished. One person was killed by falling debris in Krasnodar city, the local governor reported.
Ukraine’s General Staff stated its defense forces had “successfully hit a number of oil refining facilities and other important targets” in the attack. Drones targeted the Afipsky, Ilsky, Krasnodar, and Astrakhan oil refineries, and strikes were carried out on radar stations and electronic intelligence centers in the Bryansk region and occupied Crimea.
Kyiv has increased its attacks on Russian territory in recent months, conducting multiple strikes on Russian oil refineries this year, arguing they are fair targets as they fuel Moscow's military. In retaliation, Russia has hit Ukrainian power plants with drone and missile attacks, crippling the country’s power generating capacity and leading to rolling blackouts imposed by Kyiv.