UKR Battles to Hold Chasiv Yar; RU Makes No Gains around Avdiivka; How UKR Is Weakening RU’s War Machine; UKR Drones Strike Ryazan Oil Refinery; Video Shows Dozens of RUs Targeted With ATACMS Cluster Rounds; UKR Strikes at RU Comd Post, 100 C-Clashes-F.Line; UKR Repels 89 Attacks-6 Sectors, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

Military briefing: Ukraine battles to hold vital stronghold Chasiv Yar:

Russia is intensifying its efforts to seize Chasiv Yar, a crucial stronghold in eastern Ukraine, as exhausted and under-equipped Ukrainian brigades struggle to hold the line while waiting for US military aid.

Up to 25,000 Russian troops have been deployed near the town in recent weeks, according to a spokesperson for Ukraine’s ground forces in the east. In other flashpoints along the frontline, Moscow’s army is also pressing ahead, seeking to capture as much territory as it can before the arrival of western kit.

“The situation on the frontline has worsened,” Ukraine’s commander-in-chief General Oleksandr Syrsky said on Sunday.

Chasiv Yar is seen as a key prize for Moscow, with senior Ukrainian commanders claiming the Russian general staff has ordered its forces to seize it by May 9 when Russia celebrates the end of the second world war. The Kremlin has previously justified its invasion of Ukraine as an attempt at “denazification”, and symbolically tied the war to the Soviet Union’s fight against Nazi Germany.

But the small town’s importance is strategic rather than symbolic, analysts and Ukrainian servicemen say.

A Ukrainian retreat from Chasiv Yar could jeopardise the entire defence of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, collectively known as the Donbas. Sat on top of a hill, the city provides Ukraine with one of the last natural barriers protecting important supply lines and, 30 kilometres to the north, the regional capital of Kramatorsk.

“Chasiv Yar is a centre of gravity for the defensive line in the region,” said Viktor Kevliuk, a military analyst for the Centre for Defence Strategies, a Kyiv-based security think-tank.

The Russian air force is also homing in on Chasiv Yar, launching more than 30 powerful glide bombs every day, according to a spokesman for the 26th Artillery Brigade deployed in the city. These bombs are Soviet-era “dumb bombs” retrofitted with wings and navigation systems that allow Russia to better target Ukrainian positions. Upon impact, a glide bomb can leave craters up to 20m wide and 6m deep.

Both sides are now battling for control over Bohdanivka and Ivanivske, two villages downhill on the town’s flanks, with Russian troops so far unable to enter the town itself. —>READ MORE HERE

ISW: Russian troops make no gains around Avdiivka, may focus shifts to Chasiv Yar

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces did not make any confirmed advances in the Avdiivka area on 30 April, while Ukrainian sources stated they repelled a higher number of Russian attacks in the Bakhmut-Chasiv Yar direction than near Avdiivka.

According to the Ukrainian General Staff, Ukrainian forces repelled 47 Russian attacks near Avdiivka and 57 Russian attacks around Bakhmut throughout the day.

According to the ISW, Russian forces may be slowing down the rate of attacks around Avdiivka while re-committing to offensive pushes around Chasiv Yar.”

Chasiv Yar is an operationally significant objective as it would provide Russian forces with a staging ground to launch offensive operations against Druzhkivka and Kostyantynivka, which form the fortress belt of four major cities in Donetsk Oblast.

ISW reports that Russian forces have focused on building tactical success near Ocheretyne and Novokalynove since around April 20, but “the rate of confirmed advances appears to have slowed as of April 30.”

Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets provided details on the Russian units operating in various areas around Avdiivka.

The report notes that “Russian forces may decide to push from their salient north of Avdiivka towards the Toretsk area to complement Russian offensive operations near Chasiv Yar, which would likely require Russian forces to conduct a tactical pause to concentrate forces for such a drive.”

However, an advance towards Toretsk would require longer pauses for Russian forces to reinforce units and redeploy additional troops to the Ocheretyne area, according to Mashovets. He stated the Russian Central Grouping has created a tactical reserve of three small infantry regiments in the Avdiivka direction. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++How Ukraine Is Weakening Russia’s War Machine+++++

+++++Fire breaks out at oil refinery in Ryazan Oblast after drone strikes+++++

+++++Drone Video Shows Dozens of Russians Targeted with ATACMS Cluster Rounds+++++

+++++Ukrainian aircraft strikes at Russian command post, 100 clashes occur at frontline+++++

+++++Ukrainian defense forces repel 89 enemy attacks in six sectors in past 24 hours+++++

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