Donetsk Oblast chief: Russia will push into central Ukraine if it captures Chasiv Yar
Vadym Filashkin, Donetsk Oblast chief, warns that capturing Chasiv Yar could enable Russian forces to advance further into central Ukraine, with Ukraine doing everything possible to prevent the fall of the city.
Speaking to Sky News, Donetsk Oblast chief Vadym Filashkin warned that if Russian forces capture Chasiv Yar and the wider Donbas Oblast in eastern Ukraine, would push into the heart of Ukraine, so Ukrainian soldiers will do “everything possible – and impossible” to push the invaders back.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Russian military leadership aimed to capture Chasiv Yar by May 9, Russia’s Victory Day, due to its strategic hilltop location offering defensive advantages from the east and south, but they failed; seizing it would threaten major cities like Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, and Kramatorsk. Previously, Vadym Skibitskyi from the Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate warned that its capture could still occur eventually.
Filashkin reported that Russian troops were attempting to penetrate eastern Ukraine’s defenses, firing between 1,500 to 2,500 artillery rounds and conducting airstrikes daily in the region.
He highlighted the strategic risk of the Donbas region falling under Russian control, stating it could lead to further advances into central regions:
“The enemy will move onwards. If, God forbid, this happens, the enemy will advance further into the central territory of our country,” he said.
Emphasizing determination, he asserted,
“We will do everything possible – and impossible – to hold the enemy here in the Donetsk region and restore the borders to those of 1991.”
Ukraine’s 1991 borders are internationally recognized. However, Russia, which occupied parts of Ukraine and annexed Crimea in 2014 and four other regions in 2022, is consistently trying to change Ukraine’s official borders. This effort aims to coerce international recognition of its territorial acquisitions represents the first such landgrab attempt since World War II.
Sky News reported that at Chasiv Yar, the commander of a small Ukrainian drone team from the 22nd Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, known by the callsign “Steve,” noted Russian attacks have intensified weekly over the past three to four months. He attributed this escalation to Moscow capitalizing on delays in Western weapons resupplying Ukrainian positions.
Read also:
- Russia amasses up to 25,000 troops near Donetsk Oblast’s Chasiv Yar
- Ukrainian forces clash with Russians in Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivka fronts
- ISW: Russian troops make no gains around Avdiivka, may focus shifts to Chasiv Yar
- All Russian movements toward Chasiv Yar getting destroyed, Ukraine drone unit commander says
