The northern part of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) claims to be almost completely controlled by Russian forces, while the southern half of the city is already under Russian control.
"Collisions at Chasiv Yar are frequent despite the opponent's steady defense. Almost the entire northern part of the city is under our control," TASS quoted military expert Andrey Marochko as saying.
"For the southern part of Chasiv Yar, we have about half the control, with small steps forward," he added.
According to military expert Andrey Marochko, only 20% of Chasiv Yar is controlled by Ukrainian armed forces. "In general, the opponent controls about 20% of Chasiv Yar and this number is also decreasing," he noted.
Russia has been trying to seize Chasiv Yar for nearly a year. Tsn.ua on February 10 reported that in the previous days, Russia had sought to attack the city three times.
Regarding the situation in Chasiv Yar, Dmytro Zaporozhets - spokesperson for Ukraine's "Lugansk" combat - tactical Group noted that commanders at various levels, both the commanders of the "Kortytsia" Strategic combat - tactical Group and the Russian combat - tactical Command, are doing everything possible to hinder Russia's plans. The goal of the Ukrainian side is to delay and prevent Russia from taking the city.
If Russia completely captures Chasiv Yar, Ukraine's next defensive stronghold in Donetsk will be the city of Kostyantynivka.
"We are actively preparing for defensive activities in case of an attack on Kostyantynivka. The public works are under construction, all available resources and equipment will be used" - the spokesperson said.
Chasiv Yar (Peaceful Mountain Valley) had a population of more than 12,000 people before the conflict, known to the Russian as Chasov Yar. The city is located in the Donbass industrial zone of Ukraine's Donetsk region.
The city has a cutting channel. Before the conflict, Chasiv Yar's economy depended on a factory for the production of reinforced concrete products and the exploitation of heat-resistant clay and the production of heat-resistant clay products.
Located in high ground, Chasiv Yar was once used as a force gathering point and a forward artillery base for the Ukrainian army. The city was shelled and severely damaged by the Russian army during the conflict.
In April 2024, according to Reuters, Russian military analysts listed Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka as "fortified cities" in eastern Ukraine that could be reached from Chasiv Yar.
The Institute for the Study of War (IWS), based in Washington, US, described the cities as the "backbone" of the defense of the Ukrainian army in the east.
"The efforts to attack Chasiv Yar give Russian forces significant prospects in terms of combat," the IWS noted. The institute warned that the loss of Druzhkivka and Kostiantynivka in particular would be a major defeat in terms of combat and unlikely to be reversed.
