Russia claims capture of Chasiv Yar after 16-month battle
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Russia claims capture of Ukrainian stronghold Chasiv Yar; Kyiv denies loss
Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov hails the “courage of the paratroopers” Ukraine denies Moscow’s claims that it had captured Chasiv Yar, saying Russian troops had only raised their flag over an already occupied part of the strategically important town. Russia was launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian civilians in Kyiv. It fired at least 308 drones and eight cruise missiles, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Most were shot down, but more than two dozen struck their targets, it said. The Ukrainian military announced later Thursday that the death toll from Russia’s attacks had risen to 16, including a 6-year-old boy. The capture “goes against Trump’s political dancing,” a pro-Kremlin commentator says of the U.S. president’s threat to impose tariffs on Russia if it does not agree to a peace plan in a 10-day period. “This war can go on for many more years,” a former Russian president’s online “watch” says.
A Ukrainian military spokesman denied Moscow’s claims that it had captured Chasiv Yar, saying Russian troops had only raised their flag over an already occupied part of the strategically important town.
Showing no appetite for the ceasefire Trump has increasingly demanded, Russian Defense Minister Andrey Belousov hailed the “courage of the paratroopers” of the 98th Guards Airborne Division, which Moscow says carried out the seizure.
On Tuesday, Trump — whose historical warmth toward Russian President Vladimir Putin has chilled significantly in recent weeks — said he would start imposing tariffs and other measures on Moscow if it did not agree to a peace plan in 10 days.
Damage to a residential building after a Russian air attack on Kyiv on Thursday. Sergii Volskyi / AFP via Getty Images
While Russia was declaring victory in Chasiv Yar, it was launching hundreds of drones and missiles at Ukrainian civilians in Kyiv. It fired at least 308 drones and eight cruise missiles, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Most were shot down, but more than two dozen struck their targets, it said.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least six people were killed, including a 6-year-old boy. The Ukrainian military announced later Thursday that the death toll from Russia’s attacks in Kyiv had risen to 16.
People react to a Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv on Wednesday. Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images
“Today, the world again saw Russia’s response to our desire for peace with America and Europe: new demonstrative killings,” he said in his nightly address.
Artemov Oleksandr, 40, a director at a bank in Kyiv, described the “terrible reality” visited upon Ukrainians.
“All night long, while this is happening, we were constantly texting,” he said. “Because in addition to some fears for ourselves, there are also many fears for our parents, for our relatives, maybe even more for them.”
He added, “Unfortunately, this is such a terrible reality that no one wants to sleep with.”
Ukraine denies key town has fallen
With a prewar population of just 12,000, Chasiv Yar today lies in ruins after more than a year of attritional warfare between the Russian invaders and Ukraine.
Its significance owes to its key position en route to key “fortress” cities in the Donetsk region, including Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Victor Trygubov, spokesman for Ukraine’s troops in the Khortytsia region, denied that Russia had made the key gain.
“As usual, they once again raised a flag at the occupied part of the town, which they took about a half-year ago,” he said, while spreading “false information that they control all of the town.”
Ruins of destroyed buildings in Chasiv Yar on July 24. Kostiantyn Liberov / Getty Images
DeepState, a Ukrainian online monitoring platform that tracks the conflict using publicly available information, showed Thursday that while most of the town was under Russian occupation, part of it was grayed out, indicating it was under “unknown” control.
It was not immediately possible to independently verify either side’s statements.
Dva Mayora, a Russian pro-war channel with 1.2 million subscribers on the messaging service Telegram, said the capture “goes against Trump’s political dancing.”
Chasiv Yar does include a hilltop from which troops can attack other key points in the region that form the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defenses, according to The Associated Press.
But Sergey Markov, a former adviser to Putin who is now a pro-Kremlin commentator, said the town had “no strategic significance” and instead illustrated “how this war can go on for many more years.”
Trump’s ultimatums have also caused an online spat with former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. After Trump called Medvedev a “failed president” who should “watch his words,” Medvedev red hit back.
“If a few words from a former Russian president can provoke such a nervous reaction from the sitting and supposedly formidable president of the United States, then clearly Russia is entirely in the right and will continue on its chosen path,” said Medvedev, now a frequently outspoken Kremlin outrider online.
He also referred to Russia’s Soviet-era capability of launching a nuclear strike even if its armed forces and leadership are wiped out. Trump, he said, should “recall just how dangerous the mythical ‘Dead Hand’ can be” — a reference to the Western name for the technology.
Explainer-What is the significance of Russia’s claimed capture of Ukrainian town Chasiv Yar?
Chasiv Yar (Quiet Ravine) sits in the industrial Donbas area in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. It is one of four regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022, something Kyiv called an illegal land grab. The town’s pre-war economy centred on a factory that produced reinforced concrete products and clay used in bricks. It was regarded by the Russian military as one of Ukraine’s best defended strongholds due to its geography, elevated position, terrain and factories and apartment blocks where Ukrainian forces were able to dig in. Russia’s capture of the town, if confirmed, would advance Moscow’s grinding effort to encircle the “fortress city” of Kostiantynivka which it is trying to envelop in a pincer movement. But holding ground and advancing northwards will not be easy, war blogger Rybar said. Some Russian analysts say that the town’s capture would be a tactical victory rather than a strategic one. Ukraine says its fierce and prolonged resistance in ChasIV Yar shows how it has been able to slow and inflict heavy casualties on a numerically-superior force.
A serviceman of 24th Mechanized brigade named after King Danylo of the Ukrainian Armed Forces fires a 2s5 \”Hyacinth-s\” self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops at a front line, amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine, near the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, Ukraine November 18, 2024. Oleg Petrasiuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danylo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo
MOSCOW – Russia said on Thursday it had taken full control of the shattered town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine after nearly 16 months of fighting, an assertion which Kyiv dismissed as “propaganda”.
Following are key facts about Chasiv Yar, which Russians call Chasov Yar, and the long battle for its control which began in March/April 2024.
WHAT IS CHASIV YAR?
With a pre-war population of more than 12,000, Chasiv Yar (Quiet Ravine) sits in the industrial Donbas area in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, one of four regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed in 2022, something Kyiv called an illegal land grab.
Dissected by a canal, the town’s pre-war economy centred on a factory that produced reinforced concrete products and clay used in bricks.
Located on higher ground, it once served as a regrouping point and as a forward artillery base for the Ukrainian army.
It was regarded by the Russian military as one of Ukraine’s best defended strongholds due to its geography, elevated position, terrain and factories and apartment blocks where Ukrainian forces were able to dig in.
WHY DOES RUSSIA WANT IT?
Russia’s capture of the town, if confirmed, would advance Moscow’s grinding effort to encircle the “fortress city” of Kostiantynivka which it is trying to envelop in a pincer movement, and remove what had become an obstacle to its army’s advance westwards across the rest of Donetsk.
Russian military analysts list Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka as the “fortress cities” in Ukraine’s east accessible from Chasiv Yar if Moscow’s forces can get there, something Kyiv is determined to stop.
Russian analysts say their military will use Chasiv Yar as a base to target Ukrainian forces in northern Donetsk with artillery and drone fire and to try to hamper Ukrainian supply lines in the area. But holding ground and advancing northwards will not be easy, war blogger Rybar said.
WHAT HAS THE BATTLE FOR CHASIV YAR BEEN LIKE?
Military analysts on both sides say the battle has been one of the longest of the war and one of the most grinding engagements with high but undisclosed casualties on both sides.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Thursday its paratroopers had covered more than 20 km (12 miles) under Ukrainian artillery and drone fire in their push to take the town and had cleared more than 4,200 buildings and structures.
Reuters could not confirm that assertion.
Ukraine says its fierce and prolonged resistance in Chasiv Yar shows how it has been able to slow and inflict heavy casualties on a numerically-superior force, including with the help of its drone units.
HOW IMPORTANT WOULD ITS FALL BE?
Ukrainian analysts have downplayed Chasiv Yar’s importance and suggested Russia taking it would be a Pyrrhic victory given the high price Kyiv has forced Moscow to pay for the town and how long it has been able to hold off Russian forces.
Some Russian analysts say that the town’s capture would be a tactical victory rather than a strategic one.
Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said the battle had gone on for so long that Chasiv Yar had lost its strategic importance.
“But the capture of the city has symbolic significance: this is how the war could continue for many years to come – slowly, slowly, the Russian army will advance,” Markov wrote on Telegram.
WHAT DOES CHASIV YAR LOOK LIKE NOW?
Most of the town lies in ruins and pulverised after extensive shelling, air strikes and glide bomb and drone attacks by Russian forces.
Ukraine says a Russian strike on residential buildings in the town in 2022 killed at least 43 people. Russia says those killed were Ukrainian troops.
The mayor of the town left long ago and most of its inhabitants were evacuated as its utilities – power, gas and water – were destroyed. Only 304 residents remained in the area as of November last year, sheltering in basements, according to Serhii Chaus, the head of the town’s Ukrainian military administration.
The Russian military said on Thursday that its forces had evacuated 65 civilians. REUTERS
Russia claims capture of Chasiv Yar after 16-month battle
Russia said on Thursday it had captured the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine after nearly 16 months of fighting. Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a brief statement its forces had “liberated” the town. U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports from next week. The town, now destroyed, had a pre-war population of more than 12,000 and its economy was based around a factory that produced reinforced concrete products and clay used in bricks. The fall of the city to the enemy is nevertheless a challenging situation for Ukraine, as it will bring the Russians closer to Kostiantynivka, which Russia is now approaching from several directions. Russia has been slowly grinding forward as talks to end the 3-1/2 year war have failed to make progress towards a ceasefire, prompting the threat of new sanctions.
Summary
Companies Ukraine dismisses Russian claim as disinformation and propaganda
Military analyst suggests battles likely continue near Chasiv Yar
Zelenskiy reports intense battles near Pokrovsk, denies Russian control
July 31 (Reuters) – Russia said on Thursday it had captured the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine after nearly 16 months of fighting , opening the way for potential further advances.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said in a brief statement its forces had “liberated” the town.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy dismissed the claim as “disinformation”. A Ukrainian military spokesperson called it “propaganda”.
But a video posted by a Russian military unit and verified by Reuters showed a Russian paratroop banner and the national flag being raised by soldiers in the desolate ruins of the town.
Russia has been slowly grinding forward in eastern Ukraine as talks to end the 3-1/2 year war have failed to make progress towards a ceasefire, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to threaten new sanctions on Russia and buyers of its exports from next week.
Moscow’s forces are also mounting intense pressure on the city of Pokrovsk, 60 km (37 miles) southwest of Chasiv Yar.
Military analyst Emil Kastehelmi, co-founder of the Finland-based Black Bird Group, said it was likely that battles were continuing near Chasiv Yar.
“The terrain of Chasiv Yar has favoured the defender. Forested areas, waterways, hills and a varied building stock have enabled Ukraine to conduct a defensive operation lasting over a year, in which the Russians have made minimal monthly progress,” he told Reuters.
GRADUAL ADVANCE
Kastehelmi said it was likely that the town’s fall, if confirmed, would create conditions for Russia to advance further in eastern Ukraine, but still only gradually.
“The fall of the city to the enemy is nevertheless a challenging situation for Ukraine, as it will bring the Russians closer to Kostiantynivka, which Russia is now approaching from several directions,” he said.
“The logistics in the area will also be affected, as Russians can bring drone teams even closer.”
Zelenskiy, in his nightly video address, said Ukrainian units around Chasiv Yar were “defending our positions. Every Russian attempt at advancing in Donetsk region, in Sumy, in Kharkiv is thwarted in the end.”
Quoting a report from top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelenskiy said the most intensive battles were still near Pokrovsk. Ukrainian forces, he said, were repelling Russian sabotage and reconnaissance parties.
The popular Ukrainian blog DeepState, which uses open source materials to track the movements of Russian forces, also denied that Moscow’s forces were in control of Chasiv Yar.
The battle for Chasiv Yar began in April last year, when Russian paratroopers reached its eastern edge. Russian state media reported then that Russian soldiers had begun phoning their Ukrainian counterparts inside the town to demand they surrender or be wiped out by aerial guided bombs.
The town, now destroyed, had a pre-war population of more than 12,000 and its economy was based around a factory that produced reinforced concrete products and clay used in bricks.
It lies just west of Bakhmut, which Russia captured in 2023 after one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
Additional reporting by Reuters in Moscow and Anastasiia Malenko in Kyiv; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Ron Popeski and Stephen Coates
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Zelensky urges allies to seek ‘regime change’ in Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urges allies to bring about “regime change” Russian army claims to have captured Chasiv Yar, a strategically important hillside town in eastern Ukraine. Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv killed 16 people including a six-year-old boy. Russia fired over 300 drones and eight cruise missiles at Ukraine, with Kyiv the main target, the Ukrainian air force said. US President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted Russia’s actions in Ukraine, suggesting that new sanctions against Moscow were coming. The attack came just days after US President Trump issued a 10-day ultimatum for Moscow to halt its invasion, now in its fourth year, or face sanctions. The Russian army said it had hit a military airfield, ammunition warehouse and drone production facilities with a combined overnight strike using weaponry and drones in the west of the capital. The town is a strategicallyimportant military hub for Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region, where the two sides have been fighting for months.
The overnight strikes reduced part of a nine-storey apartment block in Kyiv’s western suburbs to rubble and wounded at least 150 people in the capital, authorities said.
The Russian army meanwhile claimed to have captured Chasiv Yar, a strategically important hillside town in eastern Ukraine where the two sides have been fiercely fighting for months.
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Moscow has stepped up its deadly aerial assaults on Ukraine in recent months, resisting US pressure to end its nearly three-and-a-half-year invasion as its forces grind forward on the battlefield.
Speaking virtually to a conference marking 50 years since the signing of the Cold War-era Helsinki Accords, Zelensky said he believed Russia could be “pushed” to stop the war.
“But if the world doesn’t aim to change the regime in Russia, that means even after the war ends, Moscow will still try to destabilise neighbouring countries,” he said.
– Kyiv bombarded –
From late Wednesday to early Thursday, Russia fired over 300 drones and eight cruise missiles at Ukraine, with Kyiv the main target, the Ukrainian air force said.
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One missile tore through a nine-storey residential building in the west of the capital, ripping off its facade, authorities said.
AFP journalists at the scene saw rescuers scouring through a smouldering mound of broken concrete, the belongings of residents scattered among the debris.
“It’s a shock. I still can’t get my bearings. It’s very frightening,” Valentyna Chestopal, a 28-year-old resident of Kyiv, told AFP.
Among the victims was a six-year-old boy who died on the way to hospital, the head of the city’s military administration, Tymur Tkachenko, posted on Telegram.
Zelensky said late Thursday that over 150 people had been injured, “including 16 children and six policemen”, denouncing the “unimaginable scale of terror and brutality” of the Russian strikes.
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The Russian army said it had hit a military airfield, ammunition warehouse and drone production facilities with a combined overnight strike using weaponry and drones.
The attack came just days after US President Donald Trump issued a 10-day ultimatum for Moscow to halt its invasion, now in its fourth year, or face sanctions.
Trump on Thursday blasted Russia’s actions in Ukraine, suggesting that new sanctions against Moscow were coming.
“Russia — I think it’s disgusting what they’re doing. I think it’s disgusting,” Trump told journalists.
“We’re going to put sanctions,” he said, before adding: “I don’t know that sanctions bother him,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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– Key capture in east –
Russia said Thursday that it had captured the town of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important military hub for Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region.
Zelensky called Moscow’s claim “Russian disinformation”, saying that “Ukrainian units are defending our positions.”
Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said Russian forces “have full control over the entire northern and eastern part” of Chasiv Yar, including districts that had been hardest to get.
But he said fighting for the western side was ongoing, with the situation “very difficult”.
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Taking control of Chasiv Yar would be a major military gain for Russia, which has been making steady territorial gains for months.
Home to around 12,000 people before the war but now largely destroyed, the town could allow Russian forces to advance on remaining civilian strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region.
The Kremlin has made the capture of the Donetsk region a priority since it claimed the industrial region as part of Russia in September 2022.
– Anti-corruption bill overturned –
Thursday’s attacks came just hours before Ukrainian lawmakers overturned a highly criticised law, signed by Zelensky last week, that would have curbed the powers of two anti-graft bodies.
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Zelensky reversed course after the legislation sparked the biggest public unrest in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022.
The original law had put the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) under the direct authority of the prosecutor general, who is appointed by the president.
Critics took to the streets in protest, saying the move would facilitate presidential interference in corruption probes.
The European Union said the bill could derail anti-corruption reforms that are key for joining the bloc.
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Russia Claims To Win Chasiv Yar Ukraine After 16 Months Of Battle
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had “freened” the city of Chasiv Yar. A Ukrainian military spokesman called the claim “propaganda” Videos posted by Russian military units showed banners of Russian parachuting troops and national flags raised by soldiers in the ruins of the barren city. Military analyst Emil Kastehelmi, co-founder of Finland-based Black Bird Group, said it was likely that fighting would continue near the city. The city, which is now destroyed, has a population of more than 12,000 people before the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces had “freened” the city.
A Ukrainian military spokesman called the claim “propaganda”, but videos posted by Russian military units and verified by Reuters showed banners of Russian parachuting troops and national flags raised by soldiers in the ruins of the barren city.
Russia is slowly moving forward in eastern Ukraine as negotiations to end the 3.5-year war fail to progress towards a ceasefire.
This prompted US President Donald Trump to threaten new sanctions against Russia and its export-buying countries starting next week.
Moscow troops are also increasing intense pressure in the city of Pokrovsk, 60 km (37 miles) southwest of Chasiv Yar.
Military analyst Emil Kastehelmi, co-founder of Finland-based Black Bird Group, said it was likely that fighting would continue near Chasiv Yar.
“The media Chasiv Yar benefits the defending parties. Forest areas, waters, hills, and various buildings allow Ukraine to carry out more than a year’s defense operations, where Russia makes little progress every month,” he told Reuters, Thursday, July 31.
Kastehelmi said the possible fall of the city, if confirmed, would create conditions for Russia to advance further in eastern Ukraine, but still gradually.
“The collapse of the city into the hands of the enemy remains a challenging situation for Ukraine, as it will bring Russia closer to Kostitynivka, which is now being approached by Russia from several directions,” he said.
“Logistics in the area will also be affected, as Russia can deploy a drone team even closer,” he continued.
The fighting for Chasiv Yar began in April last year, when Russian parachuting forces reached its eastern edge. Russian state media reported at the time that Russian soldiers had begun calling their Ukrainian counterparts in the city to demand that they give up or be destroyed by air-guided bombs.
The city, which is now destroyed, has a population of more than 12,000 people before the war and its economy relies on a plant that produces reinforced concrete and clay products used to make bricks.
It was located west of Bakhmut, which Russia captured in 2023 after one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
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