Ukraine army retreats from part of strategic Chasiv Yar as Russia advances
Al Jazeera
Fall of key Donetsk town, prized for elevated position, would bring Russia one step closer to seizing entire region.
The Ukrainian military says its army has retreated from a neighbourhood on the outskirts of Chasiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region, a strategically important town where Russian forces recently captured a district.
The military confirmed on Thursday that it had fallen back from the town’s Kanal district, saying “the enemy had entered”, destroying “defenders’ positions” and threatening “the lives and wellbeing of our soldiers”.
“The command decided to retreat to better protected and prepared positions,” said a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s Khortytsia ground forces formation, reporting the withdrawal on state-run television.
Russia’s Ministry of Defence claimed on Wednesday that its forces had taken control of the Novyi district, which lies to the west of the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal that runs through the eastern part of the town.
Russian forces have had their sights on Chasiv Yar, a military hub prized for its strategic, elevated location, for months. The town lies a short distance from west Bakhmut, captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle.
