MOSCOW: Russian forces appear to be making headway towards their longstanding goal of capturing the strategic Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, according to reports on Sunday from both sides of the more than two-year-old conflict.
Chasiv Yar stands on high ground about 20 km (12 miles) to the west of Bakhmut, a town Russian forces seized a year ago after months of battles that flattened nearly all its buildings. It is seen by both sides as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda quoted a military source and a blogger as saying that Russian forces had begun occupying a district of the town alongside a canal.
“Over the past week, there have been more than 1,500 instances of shelling of the outskirts of Chasiv Yar from the north to the south,” it quoted its source as saying.
The source said Russian troops were using guided aerial bombs to clear areas along a major road “and with the support of multiple long-range missiles and...drones they have begun to move forward and build up their forces”.
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