Russia has lost up to 5,000 service members in the fighting over one district of the town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia group of forces, said on July 6.
His statement follows Ukraine's withdrawal from the Kanal neighborhood in the east of Chasiv Yar amid a Russian offensive against the town. Defensive positions in the neighborhood were destroyed, Voloshyn said on July 4 when announcing the military's decision.
After capturing Avdiivka in February, Russian forces shifted their focus toward Chasiv Yar, an elevated town that potentially opens for Russia the way to further advances into Donetsk Oblast.
Over the past day, there have been no assaults against Chasiv Yar, but the town is constantly being shelled, Voloshyn reported on national television on July 6.
Over 100 Russian soldiers were killed, and another 132 were injured in the past 24 hours in the Chasiv Yar-Toretsk direction, according to Voloshyn.
The active Russia-Ukraine front line has recently expanded as intense fighting continues in the areas of Pokrovsk and Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on July 2.
Chris York
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