Russia controls 40% of Chasiv Yar, Ukrainian military says.

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Russian forces control about 40% of the embattled Donetsk Oblast town of Chasiv Yar, said Andrii Polukhin, a spokesperson for Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade, on national television on Aug.

29. After capturing Avdiivka in February, Russian forces shifted their focus toward Chasiv Yar, an elevated town that potentially creates an opening for further Russian advances into Donetsk Oblast. In recent weeks, Russian forces have been closing in on the city of Pokrovsk, located some 70 kilometers (43 miles) southwest of Chasiv Yar.

Donetsk Oblast Governor Vadym Filashkin said on Aug.

28 that some 38,000 people remained in the city, which is an important logistical hub for Ukrainian forces and supports their operations in Donetsk Oblast. Ukraine's military withdrew from the eastern Kanal neighborhood in July, but military experts told the Kyiv Independent at the time that the withdrawal had "no strategic consequences." If the town is fully captured, Russian forces could utilize its elevation to gain an increased advantage for attacks on the neighboring towns of Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka, as well as the larger nearby city of Kramatorsk, Polukhin said.

The seizure of Chasiv Yar could be "a very dangerous thing" for Ukraine's defensive positions in Donetsk Oblast, he said. Fighting in Chasiv Yar has been highly destructive and costly for Russian troops. Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces, said in July that over 5,000 Russian troops had been lost fighting for one district of the town.

"At the moment, the city of Chasiv Yar is destroyed," Polukhin said. Before the full-scale invasion, Chasiv Yar was home to about 12,000 people. By April 2024, around 700 people remained.

What Ukraine's partial Chasiv Yar withdrawal actually means

Ukraine announced on July 4 that its troops had withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood in Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in Donetsk Oblast, and the scene of an intense, bloody battle that began in early April of this year.

Speaking on national TV, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the