Ukraine pinned down at Chasov Yar, Russia advances rapidly towards Kostiantynivka
Ukrainian troops are pinned down at Chasov Yar, while Russian forces are advancing rapidly towards Konstantinovka from the south.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•30/05/2025
In the southern direction of Konstantinovsky, the Khortitsa group of the Ukrainian army (AFU) has been continuously retreating in the face of the Russian attack. According to the latest information from the Rybar channel, the Russian army has begun to accelerate the siege of the village of Zorya, located on the southern defense line of the city of Kostiantynivka. Observations of the fighting in the Yuzhno-Konstantinovsky and Pokrovsk-Mirnograd junction of the front also indicate a change in the priorities of the Russian Armed Forces (RFAF). The Free Press channel noted panic in the Ukrainian media, when the RFAF shifted its offensive from Chasov Yar, to the area of Road T0514, running from Pokrovsk to Bakhmut.
After the Russians had taken full control of the last major stronghold of Chasov Yar, the village of Stupochki, the RFAF's Army Groups Center and Army Groups South, focused on breaking through to Kostiantynivka in a southern direction, reaching the Kleban-Bykskoye reservoir from both the west via Yablonovka and from the south from Romanivka. Such developments on the battlefield are clearly not in the AFU’s favor in the Kostiantynivka-Chasov Yar area. Currently in Chasov Yar, the AFU is concentrating the largest number of UAV units, creating a “death zone” in the west of the Shevchenko sub-district; determined not to let the RFAF take this “highland town”. But now the RFAF has full control of the tactically valuable heights at Chasov Yar, and is using them to attack AFU targets below. And Ukrainian war correspondent Konstantin Mashovets writes that part of the Russian troops are said to be withdrawing from Chasov Yar to the Sumy front, and are also being moved south of Konstantinovsk. According to the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the RFAF Southern Group completed all its tasks in the Chasov Yar offensive; and in fact the AFU was bogged down in battles with the RFAF's very small combat force remaining at Chasov Yar. All this poses a difficult choice for the AFU Khortitsa Group of Forces, whether to maintain a large force west of Chasov Yar, creating the “illusion” of an “impregnable” defense line, for propaganda purposes; or to transfer the entire UAV force, to areas where the AFU is in a critical situation?
According to internal information from the AFU General Staff, “Russian troops continue their offensive north of Alexandropol and advance on Yablonovka from two directions; they have captured the village of Staraya Nikolaevka, and are developing an offensive on Gnativka, directly putting pressure on the Zorya stronghold.” The Military Summary channel reported that, in fact, the Ukrainian army has lost control over the village of Popov Yar and all nearby points. Russian assault troops have pushed the Ukrainian army away from the APK-INVEST pig farm complex and are on their way to the village of Shevchenko Pershe. Currently, the RFAF is concentrating its forces to pacify the area between Malynivka and Mirolyubivka; along the T0514 route from Bakhmut to Pokrovsk. The RFAF's hold on the Ukrainian troops at Chasov Yar has given the Center Group of Forces control over the village of Myrne. Meanwhile, the RFAF continued its advance north from the Romanivka bridgehead; to the east, the Russians were pressing the AFU defenders in the direction of Novospasskoye and Shcherbinovka from Leonidivka. The RFAF had now reached the northwestern outskirts of the villages of Zorya and Alekseyevka; however, the Ukrainians counterattacked, recapturing the eastern side of Romanivka, near Leonidivka.
“We were able to push the Ukrainians out of Popov Yar, but they are still fighting back and counterattacking, and there are battles going on north of the village. The Russians also occupy half of Poltavka now,” wrote Russian blogger Anatoly Radov. In the Ignatovka area, about 150 Ukrainian troops found themselves in a “cauldron,” unable to withdraw from the encirclement before the Russians closed the lid, as the Russians had occupied almost all of Zorya and were in full control of the village of Romanovka. According to Ukrainian sources, the commanders of these units were never ordered to withdraw; but if they had withdrawn on their own, they could have been prosecuted. And in order to survive, the Ukrainian troops there surrendered to the Russians. The Military Summary channel reported that the Russian army has completely overrun Staraya Nikolaevka and is pushing the remnants of the AFU out of Zorya. Judging by what is happening, the encircled Ukrainian army will be cleared in the near future, and the front line will be leveled. The AFU here is forced to continue to retreat towards Aleksandro-Kalinovo, but the defense line here is very thin. Meanwhile, the Russian army is increasing pressure to the west, advancing on Yablonivka. According to Ukrainian military blogger Yuri Podolyaka, the RFAF is also advancing towards neighboring Pokrovsk, not giving the Ukrainians time to maneuver and concentrate large forces for a counterattack. After securing the flanks of Shevchenko I and Mirolyubovka, units of the RFAF 68th Army launched an attack on Novoekonomichne from Malynivka, after they took full control of the village of Myrne on May 26.
If the RFAF takes control of Novoekonomichesky, it will force the Ukrainian military in both Pokrovsk and Mirnograd to reorganize their supply lines. Currently, all supplies to these two cities pass through Rodynske, on route T0515. (photo source: Military Review, Ukrinform, Kyiv Post).
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•30/05/2025
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