Reference News Network, July 31 report: According to Reuters, on July 31, Russia stated that after nearly 16 months of fighting, it has occupied the eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, paving the way for further advances.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a brief statement that its forces have "liberated" the town. A Ukrainian military spokesperson called the Russian statement "propaganda." However, a video released by Russian military units and verified by Reuters shows soldiers raising Russian paratrooper banners and flags among the desolate ruins of the town.
With negotiations failing to make progress on a ceasefire, Russia has been slowly advancing in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow's forces have also exerted significant pressure on Pokrovsk (known as "Red Army City" in Russian) located 60 kilometers southwest of Chasiv Yar.
The battle for Chasiv Yar began last April, when Russian paratroopers reached its eastern edge. At the time, Russian state media reported that Russian soldiers had started calling Ukrainian troops in the town, urging them to surrender or face annihilation.
The town, which had a population of over 12,000 before the war, is now destroyed.
According to Sputnik News, American geopolitical analyst Brian O'Leary said that the fall of Chasiv Yar, the most fortified stronghold, marks a clear turning point in the battle for Donbas.
O'Leary said that Ukraine used Chasiv Yar to protect Bachmut and block the road for Russia to reach its strongest stronghold in the Donbas region—Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the northwest.
He said the fall of Chasiv Yar "has deprived Ukraine of key strategic depth in Donbas and further worsened an already deteriorating battlefield situation."
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