Tjasiv Yar is a small town in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
Before the outbreak of war, about 12,000 people lived here, about a mile west of Bakhmut.
The city is right on the front line and has become one of the main targets of the Russian army. In April it emerged that the Kremlin had specifically ordered the city to be occupied by May 9 – today – when Russia celebrates World War II Victory Day.
That has not happened, but the attacks are intensifying.
– It is incredibly intense and brutal. More brutal than you can imagine, “Steve”, who leads a Ukrainian drone group in the city, adds Sky News.
The region’s highest point
Pretty much the entire city is in ruins. Between 1,500 and 2,500 artillery shells fall every day, and only about a hundred civilians remain.
The city has a strategically important location at the highest point in the region. On the one hand, this makes it easier for Ukraine to defend it – but on the other hand, it means that Russia’s artillery could reach significantly further if the city is occupied.
If the artillery is fired from the heights here, it can reach, among other things, Slovjansk and Kramatorsk, Ukraine’s last real strongholds in the Donetsk region.
– That would make it much easier for the ground troops to move forward, says “Steve”.
“Would change the war completely”
Russian military bloggers have previously written that Tjasiv Jar is an important step in “liberating” the entire Donetsk region, which is one of Putin’s main goals with the war.
– If, God forbid, they were to take Tjasiv Yar, they will be able to get deep into the heart of Ukraine, says the region’s governor Vadym Filashkin.
Several observers have said that Russia is intensifying its attacks on a wide front while Ukraine awaits arms deliveries from the West.
The US has approved a huge aid package but not everything has come through.
“Steve”, who leads the drone team in Tjasiv Jar, says that what is needed are precision weapons.
– It would change the war completely, because we know exactly where the Russians are. We just need weapons that can knock them out, he says.
The video above shows drone footage of the devastation in the city. They were taken last week.