After Bachmut and Avdiivka, the Russians are now targeting the next Ukrainian location: Chasiv Yar. The Russian army is said to have reached the east of the village by now. But according to former commander of the Army Mart de Kruif, there is little going on: “I see the chess pieces on the board, but they are not moving yet.”
Chasiv Yar is located in eastern Ukraine, twelve kilometers west of Bachmut in the Donetsk region. Before the war it had about 12,000 inhabitants. At the moment there are only a handful of people left.
In recent weeks the village has been heavily bombarded with artillery, which has largely destroyed houses. Russia is said to currently have 25,000 soldiers ready to take the area.
“Chasiv Yar is strategically important, because from this town you can advance to the rest of the Donetsk region,” says reporter Chris Colijn from Kyiv. The Russian army is getting closer to Kramatorsk, an important military hub and a place where the military headquarters of eastern Ukraine are located. Major operational hubs and supply centers are also located nearby.
“If the village falls, the Russians will come close to densely populated areas,” says Colijn. “People are afraid that the front is moving and that they could therefore come under increasing fire.”
‘Fighting with the handbrake on’
In recent months, the Russians have conquered more and more territory near Chasiv Yar. That started in February with the capture of Avdiivka. The VRT reports that the Russians have advanced five kilometers in the last ten days alone. According to former commander of the Army Mart de Kruif, the loss of territory by the Ukrainians is not surprising.
“The Ukrainians are fighting with the handbrake on. They have to be very scarce in equipment and men, while the Russians are making a lot of efforts to push the Ukrainians back locally. But these are not the war-changing battles that we are seeing now,” he says.
The Ukrainian defense always uses the same method, De Kruif sees. “The Russians attack, the Ukrainians repel the attack and then the Russians hit back with massive artillery fire. Then you see the Ukrainians move back into a trench to limit losses.”
Colijn adds: “The Ukrainians want to make it as expensive as possible for the Russians to conquer Chasiv Yar, so that they suffer as many losses as possible.”
Russian offensive
Analysts and the Ukrainian government suspect that the Russians will launch a major offensive within one to two months. Russia probably wants to take advantage of the Ukrainians’ lack of ammunition before American arms deliveries start. Last week, the American Congress approved a large support package worth 57 billion euros; some of it consists of ammunition.
“What we see now is at most a possible preparation for a Russian offensive,” says De Kruif. He sees that the Russians are not yet fighting with tanks or other heavy equipment. The number of Russian soldiers present, for example in Chasiv Yar, is also still too limited.
According to De Kruif, the Russians have two options for a counter-offensive. “Towards the west to Luhansk and Donetsk. Or north, towards Kharkiv. Ukraine is also waiting to deploy its scarce resources until they know where the offensive will take place.”
independence Day
Ukraine’s military top brass acknowledges that the situation at Chasiv Yar is ‘difficult’, but that troops have been reinforced and are holding out for the time being.
According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, Russia wants to be able to announce a victory on May 9. Then Russians celebrate Independence Day, the day the country commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany. Last year the celebration on Red Square took place in a limited form, because Russia was losing and the soldiers had to fight at the front.
At the moment, the cards have been shuffled differently and the momentum lies with the Russians for the time being. But De Kruif emphasizes: “Nowhere is the front about to collapse. For every trench the Ukrainians lose, they dig another one. And there is no question of a break-in, let alone a breakthrough.”
De Kruif concludes: “I see the chess pieces on the board, but they are not moving yet.”
Tags: Russians targeting Ukrainian village Strategically important RTL News
