Ukraine: Russian grip tightens in eastern city of Chassiv Yar

Russian troops have successfully crossed a canal, an important natural defense line, in Chassiv Yar, a stronghold in eastern Ukraine where Moscow continues its advance, a Ukrainian army official announced on Tuesday.

Chasiv Yar, which had a population of about 12,000 before the Russian invasion, is located on high ground, giving it a strategic overlook over other cities that are important for the logistics of the Ukrainian forces.

“The enemy has managed to break through our defense line, but there is no critical failure and we are not about to lose Chasiv Yar,” military spokesman Ivan Petrychak, spokesman for the 24th Ukrainian Brigade, told national television.

Russian soldiers managed to cross a canal east of the city, which separated them from Ukrainian troops, and which had long served as a natural barrier.

Their advance has however been “blocked” and the fighting continues, added Ivan Petrytchak.

A Ukrainian soldier in Chassiv Yar, eastern Ukraine, July 24, 2024 © AFP – Anatolii STEPANOV

Russian troops have managed to cross the canal several times in the past, but until now these appeared to be limited incursions.

Frontline maps, based on open-source data, show that Russian troops have advanced in recent weeks on both sides of the city, which is at risk of being eventually surrounded.

The capture of Chassiv Yar could increase the danger for cities such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, important logistical bases for the Ukrainian army and where many residents still remain.

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Moscow's troops are advancing in the eastern region of Donetsk and the Ukrainian soldiers, outnumbered and less well-armed, are struggling to stop them.

– Three dead in Sumy –

Two adults and a child were killed in an overnight attack on the city of Sumy in northeastern Ukraine, and two other civilians in a separate attack in the eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday.

In Sumy, the capital of the region of the same name, the deadly strike by combat drones hit homes, the regional administration said.

The city had a population of more than 250,000 before the Russian invasion launched in February 2022.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, reacting to the attack, again called on his Western allies to deliver more air defense systems to his country.

Ukraine: the positions of the military forces © AFP – Valentin RAKOVSKY, Sophie RAMIS, Cléa PECULIER

He also wants his army to be authorized to strike military targets deep in Russian territory.

Russia has recently intensified its strikes on this area, in response to the surprise Ukrainian offensive launched in early August in the Russian region of Kursk, located on the other side of the border and where kyiv's forces, which entered in August, still control hundreds of square kilometers.

In the Donetsk region, a nighttime shelling left two dead and one injured, regional emergency services announced on Tuesday.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed responsibility for capturing the small town of Novosadovoye in the region, confirming the push by its troops against a retreating Ukrainian army.

In the territories occupied by Russia, a man was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in Energodar, a town controlled by Russian forces and located near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the regional governor installed by Moscow, Yevgeny Balitsky.

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