(Dan Tri) – `Epicenter` Chasov Yar is currently the hottest place on the current Ukrainian battlefield.
Russian motor vehicles cross the river using a temporary pontoon bridge (Illustration: Reuters).
How important is Chasov Yar?
Moscow’s assault units have advanced to the outskirts of Chasov Yar, a strategically important city in the Donbass region.
Ukrainian generals also admitted `the situation is very difficult` in Chasov Yar as well as surrounding areas.
The city of Chasov Yar, founded in connection with the English businessman John Hughes in the 19th century, is famous for its production of refractory materials, as it has good quality clay mines.
Under the Soviet Union, they built the world’s largest refractory brick factory, supplying all construction sites in Donbass.
The city is now transformed into a fortified fortress because it is Kiev’s last defensive junction on the way to the cluster of cities of Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka.
The Ukrainian army had no more trenches in the steppe, in fact they had nothing to cling to.
War map of Ukraine at Chasov Yar on April 10.
How did terrain affect the Russian attack?
Construction of the defense system at Chasov Yar began in July-August 2022 based on the remaining facilities, because at that time this city was considered completely in the rear, used as a center
The city has complex terrain because most of it is located on a hill.
The Seversky Donets – Donbass Canal, built in the 1950s, passes through the city from north to south, the Kvartal subdivision is located on the eastern bank of the canal.
Regarding housing in the city, there are mainly low-rise residential houses.
The sub-district with the most multi-storey buildings is the Canal sub-district on the eastern bank of the canal, which has a 9-storey house, also known as the Novy sub-district, because it was built during the Brezhnev era for factory workers.
In addition, Chasov Yar is divided into several parts by forests.
This is an important tactical position, because the Seversky Donets – Donbass canal in the forest, is led underground by a pipeline.
The second part, where the canal is also arranged underground, is located symmetrically to the first part, that is, in the north of the city in the area of the village of Kalinovka.
The above two areas were identified by Moscow forces as the main attack directions.
In fact, the canal has been without water since 2014. It is basically a deep ditch, overgrown with vegetation.
The canal is lined with a special type of reinforced concrete, the width of the canal surface is from 30 to 40m, the bottom is from 2 to 4m, the depth is from 6 to 30m in a trapezoidal shape.
There are several industrial zones in the city, in particular the Chasoviyarsky refractory plant, a repair facility located in the area of the former Reinforced Concrete plant, built for the construction of the canal.
Unlike Mariupol, Bakhmut, Soledar or Avdivka, there are no underground structures in Chasov Yar.
From the north, former clay mines adjacent to the urban area, notably the Severnaya mine, are also annoying obstacles.
The area beyond Kanal is now open to attack from three sides, Moscow’s advance groups have now entered it, but so far it has mainly come under fire from air or artillery attacks
Currently, there is no longer any population in Chasov Yar, most high-rise buildings are seriously damaged, but Ukrainian forces have retreated from the raided battlefields and the surrounding forest to some buildings there.
In the canal area, Moscow forces could also take several days to cross, then move deeper into the city.
Which Ukrainian units defend Chasov Yar?
The Ukrainian troops defending at Chasov Yar were many times smaller than those at Bakhmut and Avdivka.
Currently, the units stationed in the forward trenches have withdrawn to the canal area, which is considered the main defense line, with a number of combat structures.
According to the assessment of some experts, considering the strategic value of Chasov Yar, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army will protect this position to the end.
Over the past two weeks, Ukraine has tried to quickly send reinforcements to Chasov Yar.
In one of the notable actions, Ukraine plans to withdraw its most elite 3rd Azov Assault Brigade, from the Avdiivka front, to reinforce Chasov Yar.
In addition, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Army, General Syrsky, also plans to send forces from the Zaporizhia front to reinforce Chasov Yar.
Russia’s 98th Guards Airborne Division is equipped with many modern weapons, has fast attack power, and strong firepower (Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense).
Which Russian units participated in the attack on Chasov Yar?
The Moscow force moving towards Chasov Yar is mainly paratroopers.
The 331st Kostroma Parachute Regiment of the 98th Division is moving quickly towards the Kanal sub-district, through the forest, moving west from the village of Ivanovskoye (Krasnoye), while approaching the canal from the south.
On the southern flank, the 11th Air Assault Brigade from Ulan – Ude on the morning of April 5, advanced straight through Stupki Street to the canal where the underground pipeline flowed.
The advance on the southern flank was considerably faster as there were no longer any obstacles as far as the trench line near the canal.
At the same time, many times Russian paratroopers have made unexpected breakthroughs, which at first appeared to be a reconnaissance force, but in fact became comprehensive breakthroughs.
However, if all the high points on the flanks, including the village of Kalinovka and both intersections with underground sewers, cannot be controlled, there is no talk of `entering the city` or any form of control.
Simply put, the entire Russian offensive against Chasov Yar in the near future will depend precisely on the flanking advances in the `German Forest` area in the south and the village of Kalinovka in the north.
Most likely, in the near future the pace of Russian paratroopers’ progress will slow down after recent rapid breakthroughs.
The weakest defensive position of the Ukrainian troops appears to be the southern line near the underground part of the canal.
On the other hand, Russian troops can also turn Chasov Yar into a pocket, or `cooking pot` to attract Ukrainian troops here, then use firepower to destroy it, a common tactic of theirs.
Chasov Yar is predicted to fall, the collapse is only a matter of time.
Samuel 
Caroline