Russia aims to capture strategic town of Chasiv Yar by 9 May, Ukraine's top commander says
Ukraine's top commander said Russian forces aim to capture the town of Chasiv Yar by 9 May, which is strategically important as it occupies high ground in the east.
Only five to 10 kilometres (3-6 miles) from Bakhmut, it would be a symbolic victory ahead of Victory Day when Moscow marks the Soviet victory in the Second World War.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi warned at the weekend that the situation in the east had deteriorated, with Russia gaining momentum on the battlefield as Kyiv faces a slowdown in Western military aid.
He said Russia was focusing its efforts west of occupied Bakhmut to try to capture Chasiv Yar before moving towards the city of Kramatorsk.
Kyiv's brigades were holding back the assaults near Chasiv Yar for now and had been reinforced with ammunition, drones and electronic warfare devices, he said in a statement on the Telegram messenger.
"The threat remains relevant, taking into account the fact that the higher Russian military leadership has set its troops the task of capturing Chasiv Yar by 9 May," he said, without elaborating.
Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute thinktank posted on X, that this "will likely be an important battle", adding "Chasiv Yar is located on defensible high ground.
"If Russia takes the city, they could potentially increase the rate of advance deeper into Donetsk Oblast as part of an expected summer offensive."
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