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On Thursday, Russia announced the capture of a significant Ukrainian town after more than 16 months of fierce battles, while simultaneously launching a lethal seven-hour drone attack on Kyiv, showing no inclination to heed President Donald Trump’s calls to halt its warfare.
A spokesperson from the Ukrainian military refuted Moscow’s assertion of having taken control of Chasiv Yar, clarifying that Russian forces merely raised their flag over a portion of the strategically vital town they had occupied months prior.
The Russian Ministry of Defense released a brief statement claiming the town’s capture, further indicating the Kremlin’s lack of interest in the ceasefire that Trump demanded.
Earlier in the week, Trump, whose once-cozy relations with Putin have recently cooled, threatened tariffs and other actions against Moscow should it fail to agree to a peace plan within 10 days.
While declaring triumph in Chasiv Yar, Russia was simultaneously executing an extensive drone and missile barrage targeting civilians in Kyiv. They launched at least 308 drones and eight cruise missiles, according to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Although most were intercepted, over two dozen managed to hit their targets.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at least six people had been killed, including a 6-year-old boy.
“Once again, the world witnessed Russia’s answer to our quests for peace with America and Europe: new violent acts,” he remarked during his nightly address. He reiterated that “peace without strength cannot exist,” emphasizing Ukraine’s need for more weaponry “to compel Moscow to peace” and “bring them to a genuine negotiation table.”
Ukraine denies key town has fallen
With a pre-war population of just 12,000, Chasiv Yar today lies in ruins following more than a year of attritional warfare between the Russian invaders and Ukraine. Its significance owes to its key position en route to key “fortress” cities in the Donetsk region, including Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Victor Trygubov, spokesman for Ukraine’s troops in the Khortytsia region, denied that Russia had made the key gain.
“As usual, they once again raised a flag at the occupied part of the town, which they took about a half year ago,” he said, while spreading “false information information that they control all of the town.”
It was not immediately possible to independently verify either sides’ statements.
NBC News has visited Chasiv Yar several times before, including in Feb. 2024 when its remaining residents expressed their frustration at what they saw as an insufficient amount of aid being contributed by the West.
One piece of graffiti in the town read: “We are not asking too much. We just need artillery shells and aviation. Rest we do ourselves,” signed: “Armed Forces of Ukraine.”
Ukrainians do not see this as charity: For them, and many of their supporters in the United States and Europe, Ukraine’s fight against Russia is synonymous with the wider struggle to contain President Vladimir Putin’s anti-Western aggression.
“During the last two years I got used to keeping my emotions inside, but sometimes you just want to scream,” the town’s mayor, Serhiy Chaus, said back then of his frustrations at this perceived insufficient support.
Daryna Mayer and Reuters contributed.
