On Saturday, Russia announced its control over a new village in an important sector of the front near the key city of Chasiv Yar, while continuing its offensive against Ukraine, which is facing a shortage of ammunition. Ukraine, struggling since its counteroffensive failed in the summer of 2023, is lacking equipment and is pressing the West to expedite military aid, which is delayed in the United States and Europe.
The Russian Defense Ministry stated that the army "liberated" the village of Ivanivsky near Chasiv Yar, which may become the next target. The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that its forces took control of the village of Krasnoe in the Donetsk region of Ukraine and improved their tactical position on the front there.
The announcement of control over Ivanivsky by Russian forces on Saturday came a day after an attack on a concert hall in Moscow claimed by ISIS, which resulted in the deaths of at least 133 people. Russian authorities mentioned a Ukrainian hypothesis without referencing the jihadist group.
The village of Ivanivsky is located between the destroyed city of Bakhmut, which has been occupied by Russia since May 2023, and Chasiv Yar, which Moscow seeks to occupy. If Russian forces succeed in this, they could intensify their attacks on Kramatorsk, the large city in Donbas controlled by Kyiv and increasingly targeted by Russian shelling.
To the south, the Russian army announced on Thursday that it had taken control of the village of Tonenki, located west of the town of Avdiivka, which it seized in February.
Ukraine and Russia again exchanged airstrikes late Friday into Saturday, resulting in the deaths of two individuals on the Russian side. The city of Kharkiv, partially deprived of electricity since strikes targeted it on Friday, was hit again.
The governor of the Belgorod region, adjacent to Ukraine, reported that civilians were killed and seven others injured during a drone attack. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian air force shot down 31 out of 34 Russian Shahed drones. Four individuals were injured in Kharkiv, which had a population of 1.5 million before the war and is located near the Russian border.
Viacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, noted through Telegram that "it was a difficult morning," referring to attacks in two districts of his region. One of these attacks targeted the Cheryanivsky area, leading to the death of one civilian and injuries to two others.
The capital, Belgorod, also experienced rocket bombardment on Saturday morning, resulting in the destruction of several residential buildings. In one of these buildings, three balconies collapsed, killing a man who lived in one of the apartments.
