DIU warns of the threat of Chasiv Yar’s "fall"

Russian troops are actively continuing their offensive on Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, hoping to capture it before May 9.

The DIU does not rule out that the loss of the city is a matter of time, but Ukrainian soldiers are trying to do everything possible to disrupt the enemy’s plans.

What the DIU and the Armed Forces say about the threat to the city

Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, told The Economist in an interview what the capture of Chasiv Yar would mean for Russia. The journalists quoted the major general as saying: "it is probably only a matter of time before this city falls like Avdiivka, which was bombed to the ground by the Russians in February".

The newspaper writes that the high-altitude stronghold in Chasiv Yar is a matter of concern for Ukraine, as its loss opens the way to the last unoccupied major cities in Donetsk region.

"Of course, not today or tomorrow, but it all depends on our reserves and supplies," the DIU representative added.

In parallel with this statement, the media also published an interview with the commander of the Ukrainian Army, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, who told the Times about threats to Chasiv Yar. According to him, the Russians want to capture the town by Victory Day on 9 May.

According to the newspaper, Pavlyuk is confident that this should not happen, but admits that the winter delay in the allocation of US aid to Ukraine has had a severe impact on the situation.

"We are trying to do everything possible to stop the Russian plan to capture Chasiv Yar by 9 May. But the Russians have a 10-to-1 advantage in artillery and complete air superiority here. We hope that American weapons will help us. If the package had arrived on time, we would not have lost the territories we have lost over the past few months," Pavlyuk explains.

The Khortytsia separate military unit about the fighting and the Russians’ aims

Yesterday, local authorities reported that the fighting had actually reached Chasiv Yar and was on the edge of the town. However, according to Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, spokesman for the Khortytsia operational and strategic grouping, there is no enemy army in the town, and the Ukrainian Defence Forces are in control of the situation.

"The situation in the Chasovoyarsk sector is as follows: the enemy keeps trying to put pressure in this area to meet certain deadlines," said Voloshyn.

According to him, the occupants are trying to outflank the city through the settlements of Bohdanivka and Ivanivske. That is why they are actively storming the settlements to take Chasiv Yar in their grip.

"They are not succeeding. The "meat assaults" continue," said Voloshyn and added that the enemy is completing regrouping in this area and deploying additional assault groups.

As for the enemy’s goal, according to the Khortytsia unit, the Russians are trying to gain the heights on which Chasiv Yar and its surroundings stand in order to continue fighting for territory and shell Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk from there.