Nazar Voloshin, spokesman for Ukraine’s Khortytsia operational-strategic group of forces, reported that Russia has concentrated up to 25,000 troops near Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut, stating on a national TV on 5 May that the strategic goal of Russian forces remains reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk Oblast.
“The enemy has not changed its goal of reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. According to our intelligence, it is trying to bring up and replenish units in different directions. For example, the enemy has concentrated a group of 20,000-25,000 servicemen in the Chasiv Yar sector,” he said, according to Liga.
Earlier, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Russia’s top military leadership has tasked its forces with capturing Chasiv Yar by 9 May, Russia’s Victory Day, due to its strategic location on hills – commanding heights – offering protection from the east and south.
Capturing Chasiv Yar would enable the Russian forces to increase threats to major cities such as Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, and Kramatorsk.
While the Defence Forces are confident that Chasiv Yar will not fall by 9 May, Vadym Skibitskyi from the Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate warned that its capture could still occur eventually.
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