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Ukraine, destroyed eastern city Chasiv Yar, charred buildings

Months of relentless Russian artillery bombardment have devastated the strategic eastern Ukrainian town of Khasiv Yar. This is what drone footage obtained by the Associated Press shows, from which it emerges that barely one building remained intact. Homes and municipal offices are charred in a town that once had a population of 12,000 and is now all but abandoned. Chasiv Yar, immersed in green fields and woods, seems to emerge from an apocalyptic vision. The destruction resembles that of the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which Ukraine surrendered following months of bombing and huge losses on both sides.

The strategically important city has been under attack by Russian forces for months. Capturing it would give Russia control of a hill from which to attack other cities that form the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defenses. That would set the stage for a potentially larger Russian offensive that Ukrainian officials say might happen as early as this month. Russia has launched waves of foot and armored vehicle assaults once morest outnumbered Ukrainian troops in Chasiv Yar, who have run desperately short of ammunition as they waited for the United States and other allies to send fresh supplies. Rows of mid-rise apartment blocks in Chasiv Yar were blackened by explosions, punctured by holes or reduced to piles of timber and masonry. Houses and civilian buildings are severely damaged. The golden dome of a church remained intact but the building appears seriously damaged. No soldiers or civilians were seen in the footage shot Monday and obtained exclusively by the AP, other than a lone man walking in the middle of a street among destroyed structures.

Regional governor Vadym Filashkin told Ukrainian television on Wednesday that 682 residents resisted in Khasiv Yar, living in “very difficult conditions.” The city had a pre-war population of over 12,500. Filashkin said those who remained have been without running water and electricity for more than a year, and that it is “increasingly difficult” for humanitarian aid to reach them. The destruction highlights the scorched earth tactics adopted by Russia during more than two years of war, as its troops have killed and displaced thousands of civilians. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged Monday that the allies’ delayed delivery of military aid to Ukraine left the country at the mercy of the Kremlin’s larger and better equipped forces.

Photo taken from drone video provided by Ukrainian police shows the devastation of Khasiv Yar, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russia is attacking, in Ukraine, Monday, April 29, 2024. The footage shows the community of Khasiv Yar – immersed in fields greens and woods – reduced to a skeletal ghost town with few residents. The apocalyptic scene is reminiscent of the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which Ukraine surrendered following months of bombing and heavy losses to Kremlin forces. (Patrol Police of Ukraine via AP)