“It was impractical to hold the Canal neighborhood where the enemy entered because the positions of our troops there were destroyed, so it was decided to move to more protected and better-prepared positions,” Voloshyn told Ukrainian TV on Thursday.
The Ukrainian position was made untenable thanks to pulverizing attacks by Russian glide bombs, the press service of King Danylo’s 24th mechanized brigade told POLITICO on Friday.
Russians have been pounding Ukrainian positions with glide bombs, dropping 111 in the last day in addition to more than 4,000 artillery strikes, the general staff reported on Friday.
If Chasiv Yar is captured, Russian forces will be able to launch an offensive against the next series of Ukrainian strongholds guarding their last foothold in the Donetsk region.
Russians have been storming Chasiv Yar for more than six months and, despite the retreat, they have still not taken the town, Voloshyn added. He said that Ukrainian troops have prepared defenses on the other side of the canal.
