'Russian fakes' — Zelensky says Ukraine still defending Chasiv Yar, denies Moscow claims of capture

President Volodymyr Zelensky in his July 31 address denied Russian claims that its forces had captured the front-line town of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, one of the main hotspots of the front line in eastern Ukraine, calling the Russian reports "fakes" and "disinformation."

"There were Russian fakes today (31 July), as you have seen, (information about occupation) of Chasiv Yar is Russian disinformation,"  Zelensky said. "Ukrainian units are defending our positions and we are repelling every Russian attempt to advance in Donetsk, Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts."

Earlier the same day, Russia's Defense Ministry claimed its forces had captured the city during an offensive in the Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka direction.

Lying only a few kilometers west of the occupied Bakhmut, now largely destroyed Chasiv Yar has stopped Russian forces in their tracks since they first entered the city limits in April 2024.

"The situation in Chasiv Yar is the same as in recent months. Russia is simply lying again, precisely so that the claim spreads through refutations," said Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, in a comment for the RBK-Ukraine news agency.

According to Ukrainian open-source monitoring group DeepState, Ukrainian forces continued to hold parts of Chasiv Yar’s southern and western neighborhoods as of July 30, with the rest of the city in Russian hands.

But Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group monitoring group, said it was likely that Russia was in control of the vast majority of the city.

"We've been able to geolocate Russians to many parts of the city, to the edges of the city," he told the Kyiv Independent.

"It's still possible that on the furthest edges and outskirts of the city there is still some fighting going on, but it is very likely that the Russians control most of Chasiv Yar at this point," he added.

Kastehelmi added that Russia's slow, grinding, and street-by-street advances over several months mean the latest news is just a "development in these gradual advances, not really anything very new."

"Even though they are now claiming this, the front line hasn't really moved much from the point where it was last week. So in that sense, it's not really a very radical development."

In a statement to the Kyiv Independent, Dmytro Zaporozhets, spokesperson of the OTU Luhansk, said that Russian soldiers raising flags in areas of the city were "performances" carried out for Russian "internal propaganda."

"The occupiers installed tricolor flags in the area of a refractory plant that has not been physically under the control of Ukrainian forces for a long time, as well as in the territory of the Pivnichny district temporarily under the control of the enemy," he said.

Zaporozhets also claimed that those Russian soldiers raising flags were "risking their own lives for the sake of the promised vacation," claiming a "short-term vacation" was the reward offered to Russian troops by their superiors for taking part in such actions.

Why is Chasiv Yar important?

After the fall of Bakhmut in May 2023 Russian forces advanced west of the city towards Chasiv Yar, with slow, incremental gains coming at a high cost in manpower and equipment.

Located on high ground offering a natural defensive advantage, Chasiv Yar proved to be a major barrier in Moscow’s attempt to advance upon the logistical hubs of Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Kostiantynivka further west.

Advancing beyond Chasiv Yar could allow Russia to gain fire control, particularly with drones over key Ukrainian supply routes, severely hampering operations in the area.

What happens next?

Despite the advantages Russia would gain from capturing Chasiv Yar, it has come at a huge cost to Russian forces which have relied on infantry assaults to take the city street by street.

"There's probably a very significant amount of infantry losses for Russia, but the actual numbers, it's really difficult to say," Kastehelmi said, but added that Russia's likely losses for the territorial gains made aren't sustainable.

"Let's put it this way. — if the Russians want to achieve something decisive during this summer or even this year, they can't really go on with such long fights over singular, smaller towns.," he said.

The news comes as Russia continues to close in on other key cities in Donetsk Oblast, namely Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka, as part of its ongoing summer offensive.

While grinding forward in the east, Russian forces are also seeking to carve out a buffer zone in northeastern Sumy Oblast and penetrate into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Russian offensive operations continue despite warnings from U.S. President Donald Trump that Moscow would face "severe" sanctions by Aug. 8 unless Russian President Vladimir Putin agrees to a peace deal.

What was Chasiv Yar like before the full-scale invasion?

Chasiv Yar was home to around 12,000 people, living in a town that traced its roots back to the late 19th century, when a factory was established to produce refractory materials from the abundant clay found in the area.

By November of last year, only 304 civilians remained, Serhii Chaus, the head of the city military administration, said.

Long before that they already faced dire conditions — speaking to BBC Ukraine in April 2024, Chaus said they were without access to power, water, or gas, as well as constant shelling, which had critically damaged 80% of apartment buildings.