‘IMPREGNABLE FORTRESS’: Russian Forces Conquer Donetsk Stronghold of Chasov Yar After 17 Months of Siege (VIDEOS)

Chasov Yar opens up the way for the largest bastion in Donetsk, the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration.

Another ‘impregnable fortress’ in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk has fallen to the advances of the Russian forces.

This time, it was heavily fortified Chasov Yar.

We have been reporting on the battle for the city for a very long time. Back in April 2024, we started the series of articles with The Battle for Chasov Yar Has Begun – Russian Troops Reach the Outskirts of Key Donbas City – What We Learned From the Sieges of Mariupol, Bakhmut and Avdeevka (VIDEOS).

In the post you can find this: “Three things stand out from the coverage of the battles for Mariupol, Bakhmut (now called Artemovsk) and Avdeevka: to begin with, it will be long and bloody. Besides that, during all the operation, fake news shills will insist on how badly things are going for the besiegers. And finally, once the town is conquered, all the media will say that the city is nothing but a ‘meaningless pile of ruble’.

And so, as the battle for key Donetsk oblast stronghold of Chasov Yar commences, the usual scenario is at play.”

“To begin with, it will be long and bloody.” That was in no way an overstatement, as we learn that now, 17 months later, the Russian Defense Ministry announces that Chasov Yar has been conquered – or, as they prefer, ‘liberated’.

“The Russian assault necessitated storming uphill, across a canal, for miles and miles, straight into looming high-rise fortresses, under constant drone and artillery fire. Over 4,200 buildings had to be cleared in brutal close quarters combat under unfavorable conditions. Wagner couldn’t crack the defenses of fortress-city Chasov Yar back in the day after Bakhmut, and active fighting has been going on for over a year now.”

[According to reports from Telegram channels RT, Sputnik, Slavyangrad and Lord Bebo]

Chasov Yar is perched in a hill about 15 kilometers west of Bakhmut [now Artemovsk], which was conquered by Russia in May 2023, after the biggest battle since WW2.

Chasov Yar overlooks the surrounding area for many kilometers, had been powerfully fortified for years and the highway and railway hub became a key logistics center for the Ukrainian Forces for a decade.

All analysts agree that the fall of the city opens the way for Russian operations advancing on the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration – that is, the last (and largest) fortified bastion in the region that is the cradle of the war, the Donetsk Oblast.

Military expert Anatoliy Matviychuk on Sputnik:

“Like Artemovsk (Bakhmut) before it, Zelensky had proclaimed Chasov Yar to be an ‘impregnable fortress’ – critical to hold to prevent Russia’s advance in the Donbass.

‘The city was turned into such a fortress. Chasov Yar is cut into two parts by a river, and in these two areas strongholds deemed invincible by Western and Ukrainian specialists were built’.

Yet Russia proved able to crack the defenses. ‘Today [Russian] troops are clearing this node, and advancing toward the Kramatorsk agglomeration’.”

The turning point in the operations against the city is that Russian forces deployed specialized drone teams to take down the deadly Ukrainian ‘Baba Yaga’ heavy bomber drones.

Without the constant coverage of their preferred weapon, Ukrainian defenders eventually lost heart.

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