Russian troops have taken control of parts of a key hilltop town in eastern Ukraine, a strategic gain that could pose major problems for Ukrainian troops trying to defend the area from further advances.

Fall of key Donetsk town, prized for elevated position, would bring Russia one step closer to seizing entire region.

"Now the front line in Chasiv Yar is along the canal: our troops are on the western bank, and Russian troops are on the eastern bank,” he said on July 6. “It is quite difficult to cross even a small water barrier like this,

Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions in Chasiv Yar, and Russian forces recently advanced near Donetsk City and in western Zaporizhia region, according to the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) for July 8.

The attack prompted President Zelensky to call on allies to help bolster air defences and provide more long-range weapons to thwart Russia

Ukraine’s military says it has retreated from a neighborhood in the outskirts of Chasiv Yar, a strategically important town in the eastern Donetsk region.

Chasiv Yar is a short distance west of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a bitter 10-month battle. For months, Russian forces have focused on capturing Chasiv Yar, a town which occupies an elevated location. Its fall would put nearby cities in jeopardy and compromise critical Ukrainian supply routes.

The Russian military command intends to use the offensive on Toretsk to create operational opportunities to advance either in the area of Chasiv Yar or Avdiivka. Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) Details: Russia's current activities,

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the Kanal neighborhood of the embattled town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, said Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces, on state television on July 4.