Ukraine confirms 'retreat' from district in strategic town

KIEV

Ukraine said Thursday its forces had withdrawn from a district in the key eastern town of Chasiv Yar, where Russian forces have recently claimed several advances.

The fall of the small hilltop town is a worrying prospect for Ukraine because it would likely accelerate Russian advances towards large civilian hubs in the wider eastern Donetsk region.

"It became impractical to hold the Kanal district, which the enemy had entered, because it threatened the lives and well-being of our soldiers," a Ukrainian military spokesman said on state-run television.

"Our defenders' positions had been destroyed. The command decided to retreat to better protected and prepared positions," Nazar Voloshyn added.

Russia had said earlier this week that its forces had advanced around Chasiv Yar but it was unclear if it was claiming its forces had crossed a canal which runs through the eastern part of the town.

Chasiv Yar, a prized military hub that was once a sleepy home to some 12,000 people, lies near the larger towns of Kostyantynivka and Kramatorsk, which are both important military centers, too.

The Kremlin says the industrial Donetsk region is part of Russia and the region has borne the brunt of fighting after Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Kremlin-supported separatist forces had controlled parts of Donetsk since 2014.

Meanwhile, The Russian Defense Ministry yesterday said its troops had destroyed a Mig-29 fighter jet during a strike on an airbase in central Ukraine.

The jet and other equipment and vehicles were destroyed in the base at Dolgintsevo, which was hit by an Iskandar ballistic missile, it said.

The ministry published images of the attack on messaging service Telegram.

On July 2, Russia said it had destroyed five Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jets at a base near Myrgorod, about 150 kilometers from the Russian border.

Kiev is waiting for the delivery of long-awaited F-16 fighter jets from its Western allies. The protection of bases where they will be stationed is a key challenge for Ukraine and its partners.

Also yesterday, a Russian attack on Ukraine's southern Zaporizhzhia region killed two people and wounded another, the local governor said.

"A man and a woman died as a result of enemy shelling," Ivan Fedorov said on Telegram, adding that another man had been injured in an overnight Russian assault.

Fedorov said Russia had carried out 391 strikes on 10 settlements in the past 24 hours.

Russia claims to have annexed Zaporizhzhia, but it does not fully control the region.

On July 3, Moscow accused Ukraine of firing self-detonating drones toward the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in an attack that hit a power substation and injured eight people.