Explosions in the eastern Ukra*nian town of Chasov Yar echo between buildings every minute or two, the CNN team reports.
On Saturday, artillery, rocket and mortar fire was heard at various points in the city, most of which is believed to have come from Ukra*nian positions, but also some of the fire came from Russ*an troops.
The CNN team, which last visited Chasov Yar eight days ago, said indirect fire appears to have increased from a previous visit. This appears to indicate that Ukra*nian forces are hard at work to keep their key supply route to nearby Bakhmut open despite mounting Russ*an pressure.
Russ*an forces continue to “conduct offensive operations (in an attempt) to take full control of the city of Bakhmut,” the General Staff of the Ukra*nian Armed Forces said in a statement.
According to unofficial reports, Russ*an troops continued their slow advance through the fighting city center east of Chasovoy Yar. According to reports, during the long struggle for Bakhmut, Moscow fighters began to enter the western districts of the city, and the railway station was the closest possible key target.
Life under constant fire: Back at Chasov Yar, Ivan, a university student majoring in psychology, was unfazed by the constant sound of fire.
Incoming? he shrugged. “So what. I’m alive. I have food. Sometimes we have running water.”
Ivan and his mother Ira are among the few civilians left in the city.
“As long as I can, I will stay here,” he said, before returning to sawing the trunk of a small tree. The logs will light a fire where his mother can cook.
Ira, a woman in her fifties with short hair and a gold pendant of the Virgin Mary around her neck, focused on her daily routine rather than danger.
“We wake up every morning, light a fire and start cooking,” she told CNN. “Every day Ivan carries water and collects firewood.”
She is already planning Orthodox Easter next weekend. Services have not been held in the church for a long time, but she and Ivan will celebrate Easter with the few people who remained in their dilapidated apartment building.
No matter what, we’ll bake pies, paint eggs. We will have a holiday, – said Ira. “We are optimists.”
While most residents have left, the city is far from empty, teeming with soldiers, tanks, armored personnel carriers, and army trucks that have left a thick layer of dried mud on the city’s streets.