Russian forces have continued to attack the town of Chasiv Yar but have made no recent advances around the key battleground in the Donetsk region, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), whose map shows the latest state of play on the front line.
Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky told NBC that Russia would try to capture the town, located just west of Russian-occupied Bakhmut, by Victory Day on May 9, which marks the Soviet Union’s role in the victory over Nazi Germany.
His comments published Sunday chime with the view of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, last week, as Kyiv grapples with dwindling ammunition and supplies.
Institute for the Study of War
Kyiv says that Russia has shown its intent in seizing the town because its troops have successfully trained new mobilized personnel, transferred its most combat-ready units to the Chasiv Yar direction and are constantly forming reserves to replace heavy losses.
But in its update on Sunday, the ISW said that Russian forces “continued to attack Chasiv Yar and the surrounding area on April 21 but did not advance,” although Russia’s Defense Ministry said Moscow’s troops had taken control of Bohdanivka, less than two miles northeast of the town.
The ISW map shows how battles are continuing there as well as southeast of the town, near Ivanivske, Klishchiivka and Shumy, while Kyiv insisted it was resisting Russian forces.
“Chasiv Yar is holding on. The enemy is pressing, but the situation is fully controlled by units of the Defense Forces. There is no enemy in the city,” said Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesman of the Ukrainian Khortytsia OSU unit.
While Russian forces have not entered Chasiv Yar itself, they are using combat vehicles and infantry supported from the air to attack in the Bakhmut direction, amid positional battles northeast and southeast of the town, according to Ukrainian military officials cited by the ISW.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment.
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It comes as Kyiv and its advocates hailed the United States House of Representatives finally approving a $61 billion aid package on Saturday, which has given a morale boost to Ukrainian forces on the defensive.
Mykola Murskyj, director of advocacy at Razom, a non-profit that lobbies for Kyiv, said in a statement to Newsweek that the bill will not just boost Ukrainian forces, “but also represents a critical investment for the U.S.”
In assessing the passage of the bill, the ISW said on Sunday that even though Russia is planning a renewed summer offensive, Ukraine will probably be able to handle the push if the U.S. military aid arrives promptly.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.