Devastating new aerial images lay bare the total destruction of Chasiv Yar, as Russia’s relentless campaign reduces the Ukrainian city to a twisted wreck of scorched concrete and crumbled buildings.
The once-thriving city in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, part of the embattled Donbas, has endured 15 months of near-constant Russian bombardment. Now, it stands as a shell of its former self — a frontline target for Moscow’s forces due to its strategic high ground and proximity to further Ukrainian territory to the west, reports MailOnline.
Russia has long eyed Chasiv Yar as a key military objective. Its capture would offer control over surrounding areas and open new paths of attack towards Dnipropetrovsk, a region Moscow has not officially claimed but where it claims to hold a small foothold.
Constant shelling has left much of the city in ruins. Once-lively apartment blocks now lie in pieces — roofs collapsed, windows shattered, and streets buried beneath rubble.
In July 2022, the city was rocked by deadly missile strikes which killed 48 people, including a nine-year-old child, according to officials.
War torn city
As the war dragged on, the population of around 12,000 quickly dwindled. By 2024, Kyiv Independent reported that fewer than 700 remained. All children were evacuated last year, leaving behind only those unwilling or unable to flee. Those who stayed faced life without running water, electricity, or gas, and under the constant threat of further Russian strikes.
By April, Ukrainian authorities said 80 per cent of the city’s apartment buildings had been critically damaged.
Russia’s forces have now shifted focus to Pokrovsk, a road and rail hub in eastern Donetsk, as they continue their eastward drive. More than 100,000 Russian soldiers are currently advancing in the area.
Once home to around 60,000 people, Pokrovsk is now largely abandoned. Children have been fully evacuated, and just 1,500 residents remain, according to Serhii Dobriak, head of the city’s military administration.
Moscow claims to have annexed Donetsk and says it controls more than 70 per cent of the region. Securing Pokrovsk — described by Russian media as “the gateway to Donetsk” — along with neighbouring Kostiantynivka, would provide Moscow with a platform to advance north toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two major Ukrainian-held cities.
Crucially, Pokrovsk lies along a key road used by Ukrainian forces to supply their eastern outposts, including Chasiv Yar. Control of the city would allow Russia to tighten its grip on supply routes and reinforce its siege of Chasiv Yar.
‘Wiped off the face of the earth’
Last year, reports emerged of Russian forces deploying flamethrower bombs on Chasiv Yar, intensifying the devastation. These weapons disperse a flammable aerosol which ignites on impact, creating immense fireballs and high-pressure blast waves.
Disturbing footage shared by Russian military sources showed entire multi-storey buildings being “wiped off the face of the earth,” reportedly alongside Ukrainian defenders.
Ukraine’s top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, has insisted his troops are holding firm. In May, he claimed Ukrainian forces had managed to stall Russia’s grinding advance on Pokrovsk and even push back in some areas.
But the pressure remains immense. Ukrainian officials say their soldiers are being pounded with artillery, glide bombs and drones. Russia, they say, has changed tactics — sending in small strike teams rather than launching large infantry or armoured assaults.
Syrskyi estimates that Moscow has deployed around 111,000 troops to the Pokrovsk sector alone.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has responded to the dire situation with sweeping changes in military leadership, aimed at shoring up defences.
Ukraine claims Russia has paid a steep price for its offensive, suffering staggering losses in its bid to break through. Moscow, for its part, insists it is Ukrainian forces who are being decimated.
Neither side has disclosed full casualty numbers.