[Korrespondent] The Ukrainian Defense Forces have withdrawn from the Kanal microdistrict of the city of Chasiv Yar, which is located west of occupied Bakhmut.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated to Chasovy Yar. According to Nazar Voloshin, a representative of the Khortitsa OSUV, the Ukrainian military left the Kanal microdistrict, which was inadvisable to hold due to the risk of major losses. “The positions of our defenders were destroyed, and the command decided to retreat to more protected and prepared positions,” Voloshin said. What risks does this create on this section of the front?
BATTLE FOR CHASOV YAR
According to DeepState analysts, the occupiers have completely destroyed the Kanal (Novy) microdistrict, so the withdrawal of the Defense Forces from there is logical. According to Voloshin, the occupiers are trying to completely take the city in order to meet certain deadlines. In the Chasovy Yar area, 230 shellings from all types of weapons were recorded in 24 hours.
The situation in the Chasovy Yar area is critically grave, reported Ivan Petrichak, press officer of the 24th King Daniel Brigade, on July 3.
According to Petrichak, battles with the occupiers are taking place on the border of the Seversky Donets-Donbass canal. The Russians are attacking with forces of former prisoners from the Storm-V units, paratroopers and special forces.
“We do not see a decrease in the number of attacks, the enemy is using both artillery and multiple launch rocket systems... The situation remains tense, however, the 24th King Daniel Brigade is holding its lines,” he said.
As Petrichak added, the occupation army covers the assault operations with artillery shelling, drops from kamikaze drones and Lancets. He noted that the Russians' tactics have not changed - they are conducting "meat assaults".
"We have several armed formations of Russians here. These include special forces, airborne forces, and the first echelon against us is former prisoners... They are trying to advance in small groups," the brigade added.
ARE THE MAIN BATTLES AHEAD?
"The fighting gradually moved towards the Seversky Donets-Donbass Canal, because it is easier to defend from the Canal than to attack. And therefore the main fighting is still ahead," notes military expert Mikhail Zhirokhov.
He also said when the situation could be considered critical: “While the fighting continues up to the Seversky Donetsk-Donbass canal, it is very difficult, very unpleasant, but it only has tactical significance. If the Russians manage to cross the canal, to seize at least some bridgehead, then it will be close to a catastrophe.”
IMPORTANT POINT
If Russian troops manage to capture Chasov Yar, they will begin an offensive on Konstantinovka, Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, predicts Voloshin.
“This is a commanding height in the region, control over which will allow Russian occupiers, if they achieve it, to significantly simplify their advance in the direction of Konstantinovka, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk,” said OSUV spokesman Khortytsia.
He also added that these cities are the last stronghold of the Donetsk region, which is now under Ukrainian control.
NOT ENOUGH WEAPONS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky does not consider the situation on the front to be a stalemate, but at the same time notes that Ukraine’s counteroffensive and success on the battlefield depend on the supply of Western weapons.
"This is not a stalemate, this is a problematic situation. A stalemate is hopelessness, and the problem can be solved," Zelensky said in an interview with Bloomberg, which was published on Thursday, July 4.
He said that currently the Ukrainian Defense Forces have 14 under-equipped brigades because the weapons promised by the West are not arriving on time.
"We don't have the weapons that have already been voted on (in the US Congress), talked about, the packages are coming slowly. We are grateful to Congress for its support, but it all has to come," Zelensky said.
A lot of time passes from the decision to buy weapons to their actual delivery, which is “the greatest tragedy of war,” he stressed.