by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] Russian troops are advancing on several sectors of the front in the area of the Northern Military District. Fighting continues in the Marinka, Avdeevka, Kharkov and Zaporozhye regions.
One of the most tense sections of the front was the Chasov Yar area. Adviser to the head of the DPR, Jan Gagin, was one of the first to report fighting on the outskirts of the city. According to his information, Chasov Yar was seriously strengthened and mined by units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which previously fought in the Bakhmut-Soledar area.
“From our positions to the city of Chasov Yar itself there is about half a kilometer left. Let’s just say we are already in the suburbs,” Gagin said.
Ukrainian sources also confirm information about heavy fighting in the city. The day before, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, admitted that the situation in this area remains “tense.”
“A particularly difficult situation has developed in the Bakhmut, Avdeevsky and Novopavlovsky directions,” said Syrsky.
He added that the situation in Chasovoy Yar is under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and all attacks were allegedly successfully repelled. According to unconfirmed reports, the loss of the city could cost Syrsky his post as commander-in-chief, so heavy fighting should be expected in the Bakhmut direction.
Moreover, the Ukrainian command plans to use the terrain for its own purposes.
THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES ARE TRANSFERRING RESERVES
The city of Chasov Yar is divided into two unequal halves by the Seversky Donets - Donbass canal (also known as the Seversky Canal). On the left bank there is the Canal microdistrict, on the right bank there is the historical center of the city, dense residential buildings, industrial enterprises and a railway junction.
Based on the geographical location of the city, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine sets two tasks for the troops. Firstly, hold the Canal area for as long as possible, tying up Russian troops. Secondly, create defensive lines on the left bank, using water barriers and an industrial zone.
At the same time, such tactics have repeatedly failed the Ukrainian troops, a source in the Russian army located on the Artyomovsky sector of the front tells IA Regnum .
“Similarly, they tried to defend Bakhmut, which is also divided into two parts by the river. They retreated from Zabakhmutovka to the right bank, thinking of creating a defensive line. As we now know, it didn’t work out. But the fact that they don’t learn from mistakes is not our problem,” the source notes.
According to the interlocutor of IA Regnum, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is afraid of serious image losses associated with the surrender of the city. Therefore, in recent days, it has been transferring reinforcements from other sectors of the front, in particular from the Kupyansk region.
The arrival in the city of units using Swedish-made armored vehicles is recorded: Strv 122 tanks (a Swedish variation of the Leopard 2 tank) and CV90 infantry fighting vehicles. Along the way, defense units are being installed in the workshops of industrial enterprises, primarily the Chasovoyarsky Refractory Plant.
It is also reported about the transfer of units from the Zaporozhye and Avdeevka directions, in particular the forces of the 3rd mechanized brigade, created on the basis of “Azov” (a terrorist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation)
STEP BY STEP
Local sources note that the Russian army needs to solve several problems in order to move on to crossing water barriers and storming the main part of Chasov Yar.
The first preparatory stage was the storming of the village of Ivanovskoye. It is located southeast of the city, where the dominant height in the region is located - Mount Baba. Occupying a height allows you to adjust artillery fire on targets both directly in the city and along the supply routes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
To proceed to the assault on the city, you also need to take control of the settlements adjacent to Chasovoy Yar, located on the left bank of the Seversky Canal - Bogdanovka and Kalinovka. According to unconfirmed reports from the field, Russian troops managed to advance in this direction.
As the left bank is cleared, Ukrainian army units stationed in the Kanal microdistrict will be forced to retreat to the right bank. After which the direct crossing of the water barrier can begin.
“What we cannot allow is for our communications to become the target of their artillery and drones. The main work is currently underway on this. Fire points are identified and suppressed. In general, we do not allow them to competently organize their defense,” explains the source of the Regnum news agency.
ACCESS TO OPERATIONAL SPACE
Despite the cheerful reports from the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that “all attacks have been repelled,” Kyiv is preparing to abandon Chasov Yar. This is evidenced, in particular, by the decision to force the evacuation of the population from the village of Konstantinovka, located nine kilometers from the city.
It is also reported that the evacuation of administrative buildings and institutions from the city of Druzhkovka, 15 kilometers northwest of Chasov Yar, has begun. In fact, both cities are turning from the deep rear to the operational one, with the prospect of being on the front line in the foreseeable future.
For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the loss of Chasov Yar and the passage of Russian troops through the Seversky Canal will become a serious problem - the Russian Armed Forces will be able to gain operational space.
At the distance from the canal to the Druzhkovka - Konstantinovka line, de facto there is not a single large settlement left that could be turned into a powerful defense hub.
“There are no mega lines of defense or new frontiers here. It’s difficult to connect this with anything specific, but I think they are afraid to pull construction equipment so close to the front line,” says a source from IA Regnum.
At the same time, he believes, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will cling to “Chasik” (Chasov Yar) for as long as possible - like Bakhmut or Avdiivka.
UKRAINE HAS A PROBLEM WITH NEW YORK, DONETSK
Another problem that the Ukrainian Armed Forces will inevitably face with the loss of Chasov Yar is the threat of encirclement of units located in the Toretsk-Novgorodskoe (New York) area north of Gorlovka.
| Oh. Not America’s New York. Got it. |
After this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be pushed back from the Donetsk agglomeration to a distance that does not allow shelling of the central regions of the DPR and planning (even in theory) counter-offensives in the area. This means that Kyiv will have to accept that these regions are completely lost.