On Tuesday, July 9, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that Russian forces had taken control of Yasnobrodivka, in the Donetsk region, thus improving their tactical position.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) deny the capture of the village about 17 kilometers west of Avdiivka.
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“This is another lie from Russian propagandists. The published information does not correspond to reality: Yasnobrodivka is under the full control of the Defense Forces,” Nazar Voloshyn, spokesperson for the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops, told Kyiv Post.
He added that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are monitoring the situation in the area and near the village. Before 2022, Yasnobrodivka had a population of 70 people.
“As of this morning, the enemy has not made any territorial gains, and there is no Russian army presence in this settlement,” the spokesperson said.
According to his information, the Defense Forces repelled 43 assault and offensive actions by Russian troops in the areas of Novooleksandrivka, Vozdvizhenka, Yevhenivka, Kalynove, Novoselivka Persha, Yasnobrodivka, and Karlivka in the Donetsk region in the last day.
In this sector, Russian troops, supported by aviation, attempted to dislodge Ukrainian units from their positions and improve their tactical situation.
“Although the enemy is trying to intensify its efforts in certain areas of the front and improve its tactical position, Ukrainian defenders continue to oppose the enemy’s attempts to advance deeper into our territory,” Voloshyn added.
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Russian troops are advancing on Toretsk in the Donetsk region, a city of 30,000 before 2022. Still, the Ukrainian Defense Forces are repulsing them near the outskirts of the city, Voloshyn had told Kyiv Post in an earlier phone interview.
“There is no Russian army in the town,” Voloshyn said.
According to him, active combat operations occur daily in this part of the front. Voloshyn said that the Russians are trying to capture the city, regardless of the loss of personnel and equipment.
He added that Russian forces conduct many so-called “meat assaults” by mobile fire groups. Along with these assaults, the Russians shelled the town of Toretsk with various types of weapons.
Toretsk is located on strategic heights approximately 10 kilometers from Russian-occupied Horlivka and 40 kilometers north of Avdiivka. Ukrainian military experts note that control over Toretsk allows the AFU to keep Horlivka and adjacent towns – the operational rear of the Russian Armed Forces – under fire control.
In mid-June, several reports disclosed that Russian forces in the Donetsk region were approaching Chasiv Yar, a town perched on strategic heights.
In early July, the Suspilne Donbas media outlet cited Voloshyn, reporting that Russian forces began storming Chasiv Yar from the Toretsk sector with frontal attacks by small infantry groups.
Voloshyn later told the Kyiv Post that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from the Kanal micro-district in Chasiv Yar.
“The positions of the Ukrainian defenders were destroyed,” he said. “So, keeping personnel there was a threat to the lives of our soldiers.”
He said that the Russians did not leave a single building intact; after the bombing and artillery shelling, the town looks like a “moonscape.” According to Voloshyn, the units of the AFU withdrew to more prepared and protected positions.
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