Russian troops broke through the defenses of Chasov Yar. When will the turning point of the SBO occur?

Soldiers of the 98th Division of the Airborne Forces (Airborne Forces) of the Russian Army broke through the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Chasov Yar area in the Donetsk People's Republic. This was reported by the Telegram channel “Military Correspondents of the Russian Spring” (RusVesna).

“Continuing the offensive from Artemovsk, the advanced units of the 98th Ivanovo Airborne Division fought through the enemy’s defense lines near Chasovy Yar and approached the outskirts of the city,” the publication says. It is noted that paratroopers from the 11th Airborne Brigade are also approaching the city from the south.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces doubted the ability to hold the city

The fate of Avdeevka and Artemovsk awaits Chasov Yar, said retired Armed Forces Major Igor Lapin. According to him, Ukrainian troops will not be able to hold the city if the Russian army blocks supply routes for Ukrainian Armed Forces units. At the same time, the officer admitted, this scenario is inevitable given the reports of problems with the Ukrainian defense lines. “This doesn’t make me very happy,” the military man summed up.

Officer of the Rubezh brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine Vladimir Chernyak agreed that there are no positive forecasts for the Ukrainian Armed Forces regarding the situation in the Chasov Yar area. He emphasized that the Russian Armed Forces have come quite close to Chasov Yar and are actively using guided bombs against Ukrainian positions.

Chernyak allowed the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the village of Ivanovskoye east of Chasov Yar, but only on the condition that the combat effectiveness of the soldiers was preserved.

The capture of Chasov Yar was considered a turning point for the Northern Military District

The capture of Chasov Yar will be a turning point in the battle for Donbass. This opinion was expressed to Lente.ru by military expert, associate professor of the department of political analysis and socio-psychological processes of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics Oleg Glazunov. According to him, after the city comes under the control of Russian troops, there will be access to Kramatorsk and Slavyansk with the subsequent liberation of the entire Donetsk region.

He pointed out that Kramatorsk has become the Ukrainian center of the Donetsk region with powerful factories where heavy equipment is repaired and weapons are prepared. Its capture will mean that the battle for Donbass is over.

However, there is no need to talk about the capture of Chasov Yar in the coming days. Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR) Andrei Marochko explained that the Ukrainian Armed Forces turned the center of the settlement into a continuous fortified area. “In the center of the village of Chasov Yar there is practically not a single building left that was not used by Ukrainian militants for military purposes,” he said.

Marochko added that the Ukrainian military has equipped warehouses for missile and artillery weapons, control posts and field hospitals in the basements of administrative buildings. In addition, artillery and anti-aircraft systems are located in the residential areas of the settlement, he noted. The situation is complicated by the fact that there are still civilians in the city.

First-rank reserve captain Vasily Dandykin told Lenta.ru that this settlement has become an important logistics and defense center for the Ukrainian military. “It was a logistics center. When we liberated Artemovsk and other settlements in this direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine transferred weapons, equipment, and manpower through Chasov Yar,” Dandykin noted. He added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are “holding on by their teeth” to this knot.