Chasiv Yar is fast becoming one of the epicenters of Russian operations in Ukraine. There are several reasons for this: the town is located practically on the outskirts of Bakhmut, in a slightly elevated position, constantly placing the conquered town under threat; a canal passes through Chasiv Yar which feeds Donetsk’s water supply, which has never ceased but has obviously been kept in operation “in fits and starts” since the 2014-2022 war; the conquest of Chasiv Yar opens the way to the more or less nearby Kostyantynivka and Kramatorsk-Slovyansk, the eventual conquest of which would essentially be equivalent to the conquest of the entire Donetsk Oblast. The importance that the Russians are assigning to the operations at Chasiv Yar is demonstrated by the deployment of units with a high training standard such as the 98th Guards Airborne Division and the 11th Independent Air Assault Brigade.
Chasiv Yar, on the other hand, despite his modest size, is proving to be a tough nut to crack for the Russians. The area that the Moscow Forces have been attacking for weeks, corresponding to the neighborhood known as Kanal, separated from the central body of the city by the said important canal (hence the name), is characterized by intensive public housing blocks, which the Ukrainians have exploited as observation and fire centers and which the Russians, in response, are demolishing with blows from the fearsome (and almost completely unchallenged) UMPK. At the moment, the approach maneuvers across the road connecting Bakhmut to Chasiv Yar (O0506) have been promptly opposed by the Ukrainian 5th Assault Brigade. If things got bad, the latter would have little problem in retreating, blowing up that real choke point provided by the bridge along the T0504 west of Ivanivske, which allows the crossing of the important water canal. Regarding the Kanal district, similarly, it is very probable that, if it is no longer defensible, the 2 bridges behind it (in the direction of Chasiv Yar) will also be destroyed.
But will the Russians play this game based on the equation “dynamic contrast/destruction of bridges”? Everything seems to suggest not.
Precisely because of the failures of the maneuvers along the O0506, the Russians are attempting a sort of outflanking north of Chasiv Yar in correspondence, more or less, with the settlement of Bohdanivka. In recent days some assaults by mechanized and armored troops have been repelled in this area. However, these maneuvers still demonstrated the lack of minefields, particularly along the O0506 road, and also of passive anti-tank obstacles. It is therefore likely that they will be repeated soon, especially given the diminished effectiveness of Ukrainian FPV drones due to an increasing deployment of electronic warfare devices in the area by the Russians. The problem would not have much impact if the Ukrainians had sufficient artillery ammunition. Furthermore, other shortcomings are affecting the Ukrainian troops (in this case mainly the 67th and 42nd mechanized brigades, and the 241st Territorial Defense Brigade) deployed to defend Chasiv Yar. One of the most important is given by anti-aircraft defense, even in terms of simple MANPADS. Certainly, they could not do much either against the UMPKs or against their respective delivery platforms (Su-35), but against the Su-25s yes, given that at least 4 of them have been used on CAS missions with impunity in recent days (Close Air Support) in support of the mechanized columns, through the launch of rockets, the release of ordinary drop armament, and also some strafing steps.
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(In photo: aerial view of the Kanal neighborhood, essentially destroyed, with Chasiv Yar visible in the background).
