Ukraine says situation ‘difficult’ around Chasiv Yar

KYIV: The situation around eastern Ukraine’s frontline city of Chasiv Yar is “difficult and tense”, the army said on Sunday, adding that the Russian invaders were now “in retreat”.

Russian forces have unleashed “constant fire” in the area in recent days seeking to seize the city’s dominant heights.

Chasiv Yar lies less than 30-kms southeast of the regional town of Kramatorsk, an important rail and logistics hub for Ukraine’s army.

“The situation is difficult enough and tense,” said Oleg Kalashnikov, spokesman for an army brigade deployed in the area.

Ukrainian forces still control eastern town of Chasiv Yar, top general says

“The Russian are trying to carry out assaults directly on the small towns of Bogdanivka and Ivanivske, outside Chasiv Yar,” Kalashnikov told Ukrainian television.

“They are also trying to carry out offensive actions between the two places,” he added.

The Russian army was “using infantry backed by armoured fighting vehicles”, and “warplanes”.

“But all their attacks have been repelled. They are in retreat,” the spokesman said.

On Friday, Russian occupying authorities said Moscow’s troops were advancing towards Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region.

Both Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers with links to the armed forces said Russian troops had reached the outskirts of the town.

Kalashnikov on Sunday stressed the strategic importance of Chasiv Yar, 20-kilometres west of Bakhmut, which was flattened by months of artillery fire before it was captured by Moscow last May.