Kyiv/Moscow (EFE). – Russia on Thursday claimed to have fully seized the eastern Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar after over a year of intense fighting, as a fresh wave of missile and drone strikes on Kyiv left at least 11 civilians dead, including a six-year-old boy.
“As a result of offensive operations by the Southern group of troops, the city of Chasiv Yar of the Donetsk People’s Republic has been liberated,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on its Telegram channel.
Chasiv Yar, located near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, had a prewar population of around 12,000 and has been the site of fierce combat since April 2024.
Russia claimed by February it controlled 90 percent of the city, which sits just 5 kilometers northeast of Kostiantynivka, considered a strategic defensive line for Ukrainian forces protecting Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
However, Ukraine rejected Russia’s claim.
Viktor Tregubov, spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told local media RBK that the situation is “the same as in previous months.”
The independent Ukrainian analysis platform DeepState reported Thursday that Ukrainian forces were still holding parts of the city’s south and west.
Still, Russian officials presented the claimed capture as a major blow to Ukrainian defenses.
“The liberation of Chasiv Yar effectively means the collapse of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defensive line toward Konstantinovka,” Igor Kimanovsky, an advisor to the Russian-installed leadership in Donetsk, told state-run TASS.
Missile Strike Devastates Kyiv In Kyiv, a new barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones and Iskander-K cruise missiles struck residential areas, killing 11 people and injuring at least 93, 11 of them children, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.
Russia launched more than 300 Shahed drones and eight cruise missiles in the attack. Ukrainian air defenses intercepted 288 drones and three missiles, but five Iskanders made impact, including one that hit a nine-story apartment building, destroying its entrance.
Timur Tkachenko, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said more than 100 targets were damaged, including homes, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and a university.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the strike and called for renewed international pressure on Russia.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine is counting on the commitments made by Europe and the United States, including recent moves by US President Donald Trump.
Trump shortened an ultimatum he gave Russian President Vladimir Putin, from 50 days to 10, to take steps toward peace by Aug. 8.
He also approved tariffs and punitive measures against India and Iran, which have supported Russia economically and militarily. EFE
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