Russian troops have completed their conquest of Chasiv Yar, advancing for the ‘fortress belt’ a strategic high ground in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. Moscow’s forces began to besiege the city in March 2024, about a month after the fall of Avdiivka, 30km to the south, freed up offensive troops. Russia prioritized this line of attack after conquering the city of Bakhmut in May 2023, following months of battles led by Wagner Group mercenaries.
The capture of Chasiv Yar is significant because it sits astride a canal that forms a natural defensive barrier and provides a vantage point from which Russia can survey the remaining free areas of Donetsk. According to military expert Vitaly Kiselyov, “Chasiv Yar is a key height in terms of adjusting observation and conducting combat operations.” Kiselyov added that Russian forces would likely use this advantageous height to outflank Ukrainian forces and edge them out.
However, some analysts disagree that the fall of Chasiv Yar is as important as Russian analysts make it sound. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that “tactical Russian advances westward in Chasiv Yar do not constitute an operationally significant development in this area.” The ISW added that Ukrainian lines of communication were not further threatened, since “Russian forces have been within tube artillery range of Ukraine’s main logistics route through the fortress belt since late January 2025 and have held positions along the T-0504 Bakhmut-Kostyantynivka highway for several months, and have yet to significantly threaten Ukrainian positions in Kostiantynivka.”
The situation is different in Pokrovsk, some 35km southwest of Chasiv Yar, which Russia has also besieged. Denis Pushilin, the head of the pro-Russian, self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, said Ukrainian lines of communication into Pokrovsk had been impaired. “The enemy has been largely denied the possibility to deliver ammunition and carry out troop rotation,” Pushilin said.
Russian forces have also claimed to have breached the outskirts of Kupiansk, a city with a pre-war population of more than 26,000, in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region. Russian military expert Andrey Marochko told TASS that troops were deploying small, mobile groups targeting Ukrainian positions with precise strikes. Russia claims to be creating a buffer zone to protect the four regions it formally annexed in September 2022, but Ukraine believes that claim to be an excuse for further occupation.
The war of words between Russia and the US has escalated, with US President Donald Trump repeating last week that he was “disappointed” in Putin. Trump has allowed US weapons to flow to Ukraine and announced a 25 percent tariff on India for buying Russian oil. On Tuesday, Trump told CNBC, “I’m going to raise that very substantially over the next 24 hours, because they’re buying Russian oil, they’re fuelling the war machine, and if they’re going to do that, I’m not going to be happy.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine has stepped up its interdiction campaign against Russian energy and transport infrastructure. On July 31, Russia said it shot down 32 Ukrainian long-range UAVs in its western border regions. Ukraine has been attacking the Russian railways connecting defence factories to the front, said open-source intelligence gatherer Frontelligence Insight.
The conflict continues to escalate, with both sides suffering heavy losses. The outcome remains uncertain, with diplomatic efforts ongoing to find a peaceful resolution.