Chassiv Yar is under “constant fire” from the Russian army. Moscow's forces intensified their operations on Friday towards this key locality, located west of Bakhmut, to advance in the eastern region of Donetsk. Chassiv Iar is the last important locality before the large city of Kramatorsk.
For a week, “the situation has been heating up,” the head of the local military administration of Chassiv Iar, Serguiï Tchaous, admitted to AFP. “The city has become even more dangerous. If before there were moments of silence, now there are none,” he told AFP. “The whole city is burning. »
A confusing situation
The Telegram channel DeepState, close to the Ukrainian army and followed by nearly 690,000 people, announced for its part that the Russians had “penetrated houses” on the eastern outskirts of this devastated city, where only 770 people now live. people, according to Serguiï Tchaous, compared to some 13,000 before the war.
“The situation there is very difficult, the fighting continues, but they [the Russians] are not there,” Andri Zadoubinny, spokesperson for the Eastern Ukrainian command, said in the morning, according to the Reuters agency.
Read alsoRussia claims the capture of 400 km2 since January 2024
Chassiv Yar, perched on a height, extends less than 30 km southeast of Kramatorsk, the main city in the region under Ukrainian control and an important railway and logistics hub for the Ukrainian army. Continuing this slow progression, the Russian army also claimed on Friday the capture of the village of Vodiané, west of the town of Avdiïvka conquered in February.
44 Ukrainian drones destroyed over Rostov oblast
Despite its difficulties on the front, Ukraine continues its bombings on Russian territory. A source within the Ukrainian defense told AFP on Friday that the security services (SBU) and the army had carried out a “special operation” overnight against the Morozovsk airfield, in the Rostov region. on the Don.
“At least six Russian military planes were destroyed and eight others were considerably damaged,” said this source familiar with the attack, saying that the Morozovsk base in particular shelters Russian bombers. Russia has not mentioned such a strike but its Defense Ministry has reported significant Ukrainian drone attacks carried out on several regions, including Rostov-on-Don, during the night and in the morning. In total, 53 Ukrainian unmanned aircraft were “destroyed”, including 44 over the Rostov oblast, the Russian ministry assured.
Eight people were injured at midday in the explosion of an explosive device present on one of the downed drones, announced the regional governor, Vassily Goloubev. And an electrical substation was “damaged” while “around 600 residents” of the region were deprived of electricity in the morning, he said.
Retaliation on Russian soil
Ukraine, facing the Russian invasion for more than two years, has promised to bring the fighting to Russian soil in retaliation for the numerous deadly bombings on its territory. In recent months, its army has increased military operations in Russia using drones, but also missiles, particularly targeting military or energy sites, sometimes several hundred kilometers from the border.
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On Friday, Moscow claimed that its recent massive strikes on Ukraine were carried out "in response" to Ukrainian attacks on "facilities in the oil, gas and energy sectors" in Russia. The Russians have recently stepped up strikes on energy targets, causing several casualties and causing major power outages.
The Ukrainian air force said it had “destroyed” the 13 explosive drones launched by Russia overnight, with the Russians bombing residential areas daily. In the Donetsk region, the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières said Friday that its office in the town of Pokrovsk had been “completely destroyed” by a strike around 3 a.m.
🔴 BREAKING:
Today, on April 5 at around 3 am, our office in Pokrovsk, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, was bombed and completely destroyed. All our staff are safe. Five civilians who were close to the office were injured... 🧵#WarInUkraine pic.twitter.com/hkFlP4ekWB
— MSF International (@MSF) April 5, 2024
Ukrainian police said five civilians were injured in the attack using two missiles.