On the third year of the war in Ukraine, we have surely learned a thing or two about how the Russian go about their urban sieges of Kiev-held cities – and also about how the frankly dishonest MSM proceeds with their biased coverage.
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.
So Reuters will report that fighting raged on Friday between Ukrainian and Russian forces ‘near the town of Chasiv Yar’, when in fact the fight has moved inside the city.
“A rapid Russian advance on Chasiv Yar, a heavily fortified town with a pre-war population of 12,200 situated west of the ruined, Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut, would be a grim setback for Kiev.
Russia controls around 18% of Ukrainian territory and has stepped up its long-range strikes on energy infrastructure in recent weeks, causing large-scale outages.”
While the report mention that Russia’s RIA news agency ‘cited an official as saying Russian troops had entered the suburbs of the town’, there is ample space for Kiev to lie on their usual fashion.
“Andriy Zadubinnyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern military command said the report [of combat inside the city] was untrue and that fighting continued. He told Reuters the situation was ‘tense’.”
Not only that, but the Reuters report, besides putting the blame for Ukrainian serial defeats on America republicans, also endorses Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s delusions:
“Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukraine had managed to stabilize its positions and that ‘given the shortage of shells and a significant slowdown in supplies, these results are really good’.”
Really? So let’s hear what his top General Syrsky has to say:
“Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky has admitted the situation on the eastern front is especially difficult for Ukrainian troops due to the offensive actions by Russian forces in three directions.
According to him, a particularly difficult situation has developed in the Artemovsk area, east of Chasov Yar and Kleshcheevka, in Avdeyevka area, near Berdichev, Orlovka, Vodyanoy, Pervomaisky, and in the Novopavlosk area, near Novomikhailovka.”
So we have Ukraine’s top general admitting there are not one but three axis of Russian troops advance. But – ‘the results are really good’, Zelensky says.
Watch: Russian air force pound defenses in Chasov Yar ahead of ground assault.
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) April 6, 2024
As for the question of whether fighting is now raging inside the city, Zadubinnyi, spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command begged Reuters: “Don’t believe the Russian reports.”
But as a matter of fact, we don’t have to ‘believe’ the Russians reports, because we have access to pictures and videos that are geolocated, so it’s not a dispute between two versions – there is ample space for the facts, too.
But why all the fuss about Chasov Yar, why is it so important?
Sputnik reported:
“Chasov Yar sits on a hill about 15 kilometers west of Artemovsk (Bakhmut) which was liberated by Russia in May 2023.
Chasov Yar’s geographical position makes it important from a strategic standpoint, as it overlooks the surrounding area for many kilometers.
Its boundaries are quite complex. From north to south, it is crossed by the Seversky Donets -Donbass Canal, and the O-0506 highway. There is also a railway line with a bridge over the canal.
Chasov Yar has several industrial zones and large enterprises, such as the Chasov Yar refractory plant. Such areas could potentially be used to equip shelters or fortifications.”
Watch: artillery obliterating defense positions in buildings.
— Paul Serran (@paul_serran) April 6, 2024
Beyond Chasov Yar are Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, and Konstantinovka, the main remaining defense axis in the Donetsk oblast.
The city became a powerful fortified area reminiscent of ‘fortess Bakhmut’, now called Artemovsk.
“Liberating Chasov Yar would provide control of a logistics center that has been key for the Ukrainian Armed Forces since 2014.
By taking control of the highway and railway hub, Russia could disrupt delivery of reinforcements and munitions to Ukrainian forces.
Control of Chasov Yar would pave the way for advancing on the so-called Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration.”
But what are the actual Russian reports that Ukraine’s Zadubinnyi so asked us not to believe?
Slavyangrad reported:
“Paratroopers of the 98th Svir Guards Airborne Division stormed and occupied the eastern outskirts of Chasov Yar, Kanal microdistrict.
Assault units continue to attack, smash and destroy the enemy from the southeast and northeast, knocking out the Ukronazis from fortified strongholds in the forests.
[…] Along Chasov Yar, artillery and aviation with S-8 rockets are working closely, inflicting fire on identified targets.
The Russian Aerospace Forces are actively working and using KABs in sectors to burn out the enemy.”
Certain Ukrainian mistakes of the past are also about to be repeated: Zelensky can’t admit another military defeat after Avdiivka, so he is driving reserves into Chasov Yar.
“But as a result, he may simply burn up strategic reserves here for the summer campaign, as happened exactly a year ago in Artemovsk (Bakhmut).
[…] At the same time, our army today has something that did not exist a year ago – overwhelming superiority in weapons. Which will greatly complicate the enemy’s task of holding the city. It will also lead to huge, and essentially meaningless, losses.”
Read more:
End of the Line for Ukraine? UK Paper The Times: ‘It’s Time We Talked About the Fall of Kiev’ – Zelensky: ‘We Are Trying To Find a Way Not to Retreat’
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