On the Ukrainian Eastern Front, the strategically important Chassiv Yar in particular is under constant Russian fire. Soldiers describe fighting even harder than in Bakhmut. They’re hoping for more ammunition.
The dark-haired doctor looks tired. He mistakes the infusion for an injured Ukrainian soldier lying on a narrow couch in front of him. He was wounded near Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region and was taken by the evacuation team to the so-called stabilization point near the front.
It’s easier to pick up the wounded at night – even by car – because there are fewer Russian drones flying, says the 24-year-old military medic who goes by “Tora”, who sits on a bench in the “stabilization point”: “It happens that wounded soldiers had been walking since three o’clock in the morning because they had no other option than to leave their positions to receive first aid.”
Chasiv Yar sits on a strategically important hill, control of which would allow Russia to advance further into Donbass.
According to the Ukrainian army command, Russia is attacking on several sectors of the front in the Donetsk region. Moscow is trying to break through the Ukrainian defense lines west of Bakhmut and take Chasiv Yar, writes Army chief Oleksandr Sirskyj on Facebook. Among other things, through continuous artillery fire and the use of multi-ton glide bombs.
The situation on the front in the east has deteriorated significantly, Sirskyj said last Saturday. The brigades would receive additional ammunition, drones and electronic equipment.
“The Russians are attacking around the clock”
“They storm around the clock and shoot with everything they have,” Oles Malyarevich reported on Ukrainian television. He is deputy commander of the 92nd special assault brigade, which is deployed in Chasiv Yar.
Everything is being done to have a supply of ammunition and drones for three to four days. But the Russian side is using its full potential and attacking with dozens of battle formations at the same time – that makes it difficult, says Malyarevich.
We know that the Russians are desperate to conquer Chasiv Yar. We are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening, because everyone knows how important Chasiv Yar is.”
The Ukrainian army tries to defend Chasiv Yar from the Russian invaders.
Harder than in Bakhmut
Chasiv Yar is located almost 20 kilometers west of Bakhmut, which was occupied by Russia almost a year ago after months of painful fighting. Artilleryman Ihor fought there back then – and is now deployed near Chassiv Yar.
The 27-year-old described the fighting to the AFP news agency: “I was safer in Bakhmut because there were buildings and space to hide. We did our job and then we were able to go in somewhere. Here we are running while Russian drones flying above us.”
The fighting in Chassiv Yar was harder than in Bakhmut.
Putin wanted to show in Avdiivka that he is making progress
Bakhmut, Soledar, Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Mariupol and Avdiivka. After the major Russian invasion more than two years ago, months of bitter fighting raged around these cities in eastern Ukraine, among others, in which the Ukrainian side ultimately had to admit defeat to the invaders.
From the Ukrainian perspective, a lack of weapons, no or no modern anti-aircraft defense for the front and too little ammunition contributed significantly to these painful and costly defeats.
The Russian invaders are doing everything they can to bring Chasiv Yar under their control, says Oleksandr Kovalenko, a security expert at the Kiev Dmytro Tymchuk Center. The occupation of the ruins of Avdiivka around two months ago was more of a propaganda offensive for Vladimir Putin before the sham presidential elections, he says. The Russian ruler wanted to show that he was making progress in Ukraine.
Depending on the supply of artillery and ammunition
Things are different with Chassiv Yar. The city sits on a strategically important hill, whose control allowed Russia to advance further into the battered Donbass. From there it is about ten kilometers to Kostyantynivka – and from there the road leads towards the Ukrainian-controlled cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.
The Russians were making maximum efforts to capture Chasiv Yar and were gathering large numbers of troops. On the other hand, the Ukrainian defenders would have fortified a fairly large area around the site. The question now is whether there are sufficient resources from international partners, says Kowalenko: “We are still dependent on the supply of artillery and ammunition in order to be able to stop the constant Russian wave attacks.”
Chasiv Yar once had around 13,000 inhabitants, now there are 700 (archive).
Army: Every building in Chasiv Yar is damaged
Around 13,000 people lived in Chassiv Yar until the major Russian invasion. According to Serhii Tschaus from the military administration there, around 700 people are still waiting there who have not yet wanted to follow the calls to evacuate. There is not a building in the city that is not damaged.
The Russian army wants to take Chasiv Yar by May 9th, said Ukrainian army chief Sirsky. On this day, “Victory Day” is celebrated in Russia, which commemorates the Allies’ victory over Germany in World War II. In Ukraine, May 8th commemorates the end of the Second World War, and May 9th is Europe Day.
“Rhetoric does not protect heaven”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s military and political leadership is sending urgent daily appeals to the world to provide more military and financial support to Kiev. Be it with modern anti-aircraft defenses or with ammunition. There is no time to waste, said President Volodymyr Zelensky: “The sky is not protected by rhetoric, the production of missiles and drones is not limited by thoughts, and the self-confidence of terror is growing.”
Sanctions against Russia are still being circumvented, and Ukraine has been waiting for months for an important support package from the USA and a vote in Congress. The successful joint defense of the Iranian attack on Israel showed that modern air defense can effectively protect lives, said Zelensky.
Meanwhile, more wounded Ukrainian soldiers are being brought to the stabilization point near the front line. The brown-haired doctor there looks tired, because the fight for Chassiv Yar is not over yet.
Andrea Beer, ARD Kiev, tagesschau, April 17, 2024 6:28 a.m