Ukraine's Kraken special forces unit released a video from embattled Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast on May 7, showing ongoing fighting amid a devastated landscape but claiming there is currently not a single Russian soldier in the town itself.
Drone footage shows what used to be home to 12,000 people has been reduced to a mass of rubble and burned out buildings as Russia continues its attempt to take the town.
In a post accompanying the video, Kraken – a unit of Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) – writes: "Fighters heroically hold the defense, daily destroy numerous enemies, set fire to enemy armored vehicles and take prisoners.
"The enemy is trying to advance from different directions, but thanks to the coordinated work of the unit, there is currently not a single occupier in the city."
Interspersed with aerial shots of the town are scenes of fighting, including artillery firing and medics tending to wounded soldiers.
Russian forces shifted their focus toward Chasiv Yar, an elevated town that potentially opens the way to further advances into the oblast, after capturing Avdiivka in February.
Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, said on May 6 that Russian forces are unlikely to capture Chasiv Yar as they do not have enough strength for a full-scale offensive.
His comments are at odds with those made by a military intelligence deputy head, Major General Vadym Skibitsky, who said in a media interview on May 2 that the fall of the embattled Donetsk Oblast town in a way similar to Avdiivka is probably a matter of time.
"Not today or tomorrow, of course, but all depending on our reserves and supplies," the general added.
Francis Farrell
