Chasiv Yar after Russian strikes: Drone footage reveals extensive destruction
Photo: Chasiv Yar town turns into ruins due to Russian shelling (screenshot from apnews.com video)
The city of Chasiv Yar, which has been under constant shelling by Russian invaders for several months, now resembles the ruins of occupied Bakhmut and Avdiivka, Associated Press reports.
The new drone footage obtained by AP shows large-scale destruction in Chasiv Yar, where almost no buildings have remained intact, and houses and municipal institutions are charred. The city, once home to 12,000 people, is now virtually deserted.
“The strategically important city has been under attack by Russian forces for months. Capturing it would give Russia control of a hilltop from which it can attack other cities that form the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defenses,” the AP says.
Today, the rows of high-rise buildings in Chasiv Yar are blackened by explosions, and houses and public buildings are heavily damaged. The golden dome of the church remained intact, but the building itself looked badly damaged.
“The destruction underscores Russia’s scorched-earth tactics throughout more than two years of war, as its troops have killed and displaced thousands of civilians,” AP writes.
Russian offensive on Chasiv Yar
Earlier, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the Russian occupiers were tasked with capturing the town of Chasiv Yar by May 9. The capture of this town will create conditions for Russia's further advance towards the Kramatorsk agglomeration.
The situation around the city is complicated, Russia wants to surround it and is attacking from three sides at once - from the north, south, and east.
Earlier in April, a report from the Estonian Defense Intelligence Center stated that Ukrainian defenders had built powerful fortifications to defend Chasiv Yar, and the occupiers were suffering losses there.
