Lieutenant General Oleksandr Syrsky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated that the top russian military leadership had tasked its troops with capturing Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk oblast by May 9th. He announced this on Facebook on April 14th.
"I was working on another, very important and dangerous direction. The enemy is also concentrating efforts to break through our defense west of Bakhmut, to reach the Siversky Donets-Donbas Canal, to capture Chasiv Yar, and to create conditions for further advancement towards the Kramatorsk agglomeration", - Syrsky emphasized.
He underscored that the heroic defense of the brigades, which "literally dug into the ground, holding back the enemy's daily attacks", is hindering the realization of the russians' plans.
"Using numerical superiority and various motivational factors, including shootings, separate infantry groups of the enemy advanced to the Novyi microdistrict but were destroyed by FPV kamikaze strikes and artillery fire", - the general reported.
Nevertheless, Syrsky stated that the threat remains current, considering that the top russian military leadership had tasked its troops with capturing Chasiv Yar by May 9th.
"In order to adequately respond to the enemy's actions and strengthen the defense of our troops in this direction, measures have been taken to significantly increase the brigades' ammunition, drones, and EW assets", - the Commander-in-Chief stated.
According to him, the main conclusion from his two days of frontline work is the necessity to improve the quality of training, including the moral-psychological component, increase the number of high-tech unmanned systems of various purposes with trained operators, and improve the quality of conducting asymmetric actions to reduce the combat potential of the enemy.
"We continue to conduct organizational events with a focus on improving management efficiency, eliminating duplication, directing freed-up resources to support combat units and formations. The main task of these activities is to increase the combat readiness of our troops, preserve the lives of our soldiers, disrupt the enemy's plans, and ensure the preparation of reserves", - Syrsky emphasized.
It is worth noting that a week ago, Syrsky stated that Chasiv Yar remains under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces despite fierce fighting.