BEFORE the war, this city was just a dot on the map. But now Chasov Jar is of great importance, CBC reports.
Photo by Tanjug/AP
If Russia succeeds in taking control of the city, it will become a springboard for attacks on several other cities: Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka in the west, as well as the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk in the north. And in these cities there are troops that form the backbone of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the report states.
– I want to show you something, a video shot from a drone in infrared mode and published on the Internet by the Ukrainian 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade. The white moving dots are Russian vehicles. This is a video of an attack that happened earlier this month. So experts now say this shows a key vulnerability of Ukraine, said CBC reporter Andrew Cheng.
Riley Bailey, a Russia analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) commented on the footage shown.
Photo by Tanjug/AP
-Typically, Ukraine has enough artillery shells and other munitions to hit one vehicle multiple times, break up a convoy formation, and then hit one vehicle after another, impeding their progress. In this video, Ukrainian forces fail to do so.
-Ukraine desperately lacks ammunition, bullets, artillery shells. This Russian transport was headed for a small town called Chasov Yar, located west of the ruined Bakhmut, right on the border with the vast territory now under Russian control. Before the war, this city was just a dot on the map. 12 thousand people lived here. The key industry is the production of concrete and bricks. Now located on the front line, Chasov Jar itself looks like a pile of concrete and bricks, said Andrew Cheng.
Moscow’s next big goal is to capture the Ukrainian city of Chasov Yar.
Both Ukraine and Russia are desperate to control this piece of land, Cheng says – and continues – Geographically, this area is important for two reasons. First, imagine the city of Chasov Jar as a (logistical) hub. If Russia succeeds in taking control of the city, it will become a springboard for attacks on several other cities: Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka in the west, as well as the larger cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk in the north.
Those big cities that form the backbone of Ukrainian defense in the Donetsk region.
Taking the city of Chasov Yar, according to Cheng, will open a direct way for Russian forces to advance towards the so-called fortress cities in Donbass.
-Capturing Chasov Yar will give Russia greater access to these cities. Control of this logistics center will not only allow them to advance, but also provide them with a more convenient springboard for artillery strikes, said Kir Giles, a military specialist on Russia.
Photo by Tanjug/AP
Director of the “Grand Strategy” program at the Defense Priorities research center, Ryan Menon, says that if these cities fall, I’m not saying they will, but Chasov Yar makes them much more vulnerable – then Russian forces will have an opportunity to advance westward.
In addition, Chasov Yar will be very difficult to recover, I will explain why, says Andrew Cheng and continues – On my screen is a map of Ukraine compiled by the Washington think tank Institute for the Study of War. The red colored area in the south and east of the country is the area under Russian control. If we zoom in on this part of the map, we can see the town of Chasov Yar – it is on the front line. At first glance it looks like any other part of the country, but if you zoom in and turn it, you get this topographic view. It should be noted that the changes in altitude are slightly exaggerated for clarity, but it is important that Chasov Jar is located on a hill. If you control this city, then you have visibility in basically all directions – either to Russian or Ukrainian forces.
Just a few months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine began, Chasov Yar came under attack. Dozens of people were killed in the attack on the residential building. On the same day, a Russian rocket destroyed the only train station in the city. The mayor had already left the city a long time ago. Even today, although Chasovo Yar still has residents, mostly elderly people who refuse to leave their homes, the town looks more like a war zone.
The buildings here were destroyed, the basements turned into bunkers. According to British intelligence, the Russian Air Force drops 20-30 bombs on Chasov Yar every day. The Su-25 and Su-34 are armed with glide bombs, which have retractable wings that allow them to actually glide — sometimes tens of kilometers — to hit a target. And Ukraine has serious difficulties in defense, its troops are exhausted…
Also, the participants of the CBS panel pointed out that Ukraine lacks – everything. No artillery ammunition, no rockets for anti-aircraft systems, missiles and planes (F-16) for air combat…
However, as Cheng points out, it must be clear that when it comes to war, things are never simple and straightforward – there is no guarantee that the Russians will succeed in taking Chasov Yar; and there is also no guarantee that, if they succeed, they will be able to easily transform the situation into further military successes. But at the same time, it’s hard to say exactly how long it will take for US military aid to actually reach the front lines in Ukraine. According to our experts, this could take weeks. And in this case, Ukraine will just have to hold on – otherwise it could lose a lot more than a small town on a hill…
(russian.rt.com/inotv/CBS)
BONUS VIDEO – RUSSIAN BOMBARDERS IN ACTION: Combat mission in the direction of southern Donetsk
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