KYIV — A Russian victory in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Chasiv Yar, currently the target of a sustained military offensive, would jeopardize the security of the remaining Ukrainian-held cities in Donetsk, a senior Ukrainian official told POLITICO on Tuesday.
“If the Russian occupiers manage to capture this city, they will have the opportunity to launch an offensive on Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk," said Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, a Ukrainian army spokesperson.
"These cities are the last stronghold of Donetsk region, which is under the control of Ukraine,” he added.
Chasiv Yar is a strategically important city located 10 kilometers from Bakhmut. It is situated on commanding heights, advantageous for defense and gives control over the surrounding area. It is currently under the full control of Kyiv but also under sustained attack from Russian troops.
“This is the dominant height in the region, and its control will allow the Russian invaders, if they achieve it, to significantly simplify the advance in the direction of Kostiantynivka and the direction of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk,” Voloshyn said.
The Kremlin ordered that Chasiv Yar should be seized before May 9 — the day Russian celebrates the Soviet victory in World War II and a sacred holiday for Russian military propaganda that desperately needs a big victory on the war front, Voloshyn added.
Russian military bloggers confirmed that Chasiv Yar is an important milestone on the way to occupying the entire Donetsk region and fulfilling one of the “special operation main goals Putin set for them.”
Ukrainian troops have so far “literally dug into the ground” to hold back the enemy's daily attacks, Oleksandr Syrskiy, Ukraine’s army commander-in-chief, said in a statement on Sunday.
Russian forces have been using their advantage in troop numbers to organize attacks in small groups with the support of artillery and aviation, leveling civilian buildings and critical infrastructure with aerial bombs and artillery, and then sending their troops to storm the reinforced Ukrainian positions. Recently Russia redeployed troops from nearby Lyman to Chasiv Yar.
Russian troops claimed to be only 500 meters out from Chasiv Yar, but Voloshyn said the city and its surroundings were still under Kyiv's control. To prevent the city's fall, the Ukrainian command has been strengthening brigades fighting near Chasiv Yar with ammunition, drones and electronic warfare equipment, Syrskiy said.
However, Sirskiy indicated that Ukrainian troops also need a morale boost. “There’s a need to improve the quality of training, including the moral and psychological component,” Sirskiy said.
Voloshyn told POLITICO that, despite the constant attacks, the Russians were unlikely to reach their goal. However, he stressed that Kyiv needs Western air defense, F16 jets and other weapons to be able to change the situation around Bakhmut and Avdiivka, where the Russians are taking advantage of Kyiv's lack of ammo and Moscow's air superiority.