The Russian army is not letting up the pressure in Donbass, it is even making some slow advances in certain areas. By the admission of the Ukrainian general staff, the situation is particularly tense around the town of Chassiv Yar. The capture of this small town near Bakhmut would bring Russian forces closer to their objective of capturing Kramatorsk, the main town in the region, which is still under Ukrainian control.
Destroyed, Chassiv Yar is almost entirely emptied of its 12,000 inhabitants. The Russians continue to nibble away at Ukrainian positions, also further south, in the Pokrovsk and Khurakhove sector. They are carrying out air strikes in the surrounding villages.
Lack of men and ammunition
The soldiers encountered here do not hide the fact that conditions are difficult. They are short of men and ammunition. The Russian offensive in the neighboring region of Kharkiv, further north, has somewhat thinned the Donbass front. “I don’t have enough people anymore, because we had to transfer units to other, hotter sectors,” laments a platoon leader, who operates near Chassiv Yar. He also regrets the delays in the delivery of Western aid, which is causing additional losses. Recent announcements of additional Western aid are greeted here with relief.
This article is originally published on .rfi.fr
