Ukrainian forces have retreated from a micro-district in a battlefront town following relentless bombardments by Russian troops.
Knewz.com has learned that the decision was made after the positions held by the defending army were decimated by Vladimir Putin’s onslaughts and rendered untenable.
The withdrawal came after weeks of reports that the Russian forces were nearing the town of Chasiv Yar in the partially Russian-controlled Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine.
According to the Kyiv Post \- citing a telephone conversation with Nazar Voloshyn, a Ukrainian military spokesman - the Russian forces fulfilled the warning, making the stronghold unsafe and forcing the encamped defending forces to withdraw.
“The positions of the Ukrainian defenders were destroyed, and keeping personnel there was a threat to the lives of our soldiers,” Voloshyn explained.
“The enemy did not leave a single building intact; after the bombing and artillery shelling, it looks like a moonscape.”
The spokesman blamed Russia’s tendency to sacrifice its personnel and vehicles at will for its victory.
He asserted that Ukraine’s decision to retreat was based on its approach to war—which is observably different from Russia’s.
“And for the Ukrainian defenders, even a small ‘retreat’ is not important enough tactically, but it saves the lives of our soldiers,” he said.
Russia’s current onslaughts are not limited to this location in the region.
Voloshyn elaborated that “there are also mechanized assaults towards Chasiv Yar, while small groups of up to five fighters try to infiltrate the neighborhoods of Novy and Kanal.”
Voloshyn was also quoted by Ukraine’s public broadcasting company, Suspilne, saying: “In the last week, enemy (Russian - ed.) assaults have been taking place constantly.”
“The enemy has been moving from the other direction for several days, from Toretsky to Chasiv Yar,” he said.
Bohdan Khodakovsky, commander of the Ukrainian military’s Revansh (Revenge) tactical division, corroborated Voloshyn’s statement.
He said: “The enemy completely occupied the Kanal district of Chasiv Yar. At the cost of huge losses and the actual destruction of all high-rise buildings, the Russians succeeded.”
“Despite the disproportionate losses [of the Russian forces],” Khodakovsky said on July 1, “the fall of Chasiv Yar is closer. This has serious implications for the operational map of the Donetsk region.”
Chasiv Yar is considered a location of strategic significance due to its position on high ground and the fact that it is home to the Pokrovsk railway hub.
Additionally, it is here that the fighting between Russia and Ukraine is at its fiercest.
Notably, not far from the town lies the city of Bakhmut where Ukraine and Russia battled each other for a year and ten months.
The battle was finally lost to Russia which assimilated the city under its control on May 21, 2023.
Another stronghold that fell to Russia after a protracted battle was the City of Avdiivka. During the battle, Russia admitted to losing 16,000 soldiers (per Business Insider) along with lists of military assets.
Be this as it may, Ukraine withdrew its troops and Russia moved in declaring victory halfway through February 2024.
