Russia says its force have captured the key town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine after nearly 18 months of fighting in the area.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has not commented on Moscow’s claim, though the country’s military command confirmed Thursday that Russian forces had attacked locations near Chasiv Yar, which lies several miles west of Bakhmut. It said Ukrainian units were “holding defense” without providing further details.
Chasiv Yar had a pre-war population of 12,000 but is now in ruins after two years of airstrikes and artillery attacks.
DeepState, a Ukrainian open-source mapping site that charts the war’s front lines, showed Kyiv’s forces controlling the western part of the town.
If confirmed, the seizure of Chasiv Yar would provide high ground for the Russians, and threaten what is known as Ukraine’s fortress belt of cities in Donetsk region, including Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and Kostyantynivka.
Across Donetsk region, Russian troops have edged forward this year despite taking heavy casualties. The strategic town of Pokrovsk is surrounded on three sides and Russian units have advanced to the border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk region.
Analysts say Russian forces have adapted their tactics, moving in smaller groups on foot or on motorbikes to evade Ukrainian drone defenses.
Meanwhile, Russia launched another major missile and drone attack on the capital Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday. A six-year-old boy and his mother were among at least seven people killed, according to local officials.
Before dawn, a Russian missile made a “direct hit” on an apartment building in the western district of Sviatoshynskyi, according to Tymur Tkachenko, the head of the military administration in the Ukrainian capital.
Ukrainian President Voloymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces launched more than 300 drones and eight missiles at the capital. “Today, the world once again saw Russia’s response to our desire for peace, shared with America and Europe. New, showcase killings,” he said.