Kyiv, Ukraine. Months of relentless Russian artillery attacks have devastated a strategic city in eastern Ukraine, new drone images obtained by The Associated Press show, with barely a building intact, houses and municipal offices burned and a city that once had a population of 12,000 inhabitants now almost abandoned.
The images show Chasiv Yar, located amidst green fields and forests, in an apocalyptic view. The destruction is reminiscent of the cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, which Ukraine ceded after months of bombing and huge losses for both sides.
The strategically important city has been under attack by Russian forces for months. Capturing it would give Russia control of a hill from which it could attack other cities that form the backbone of Ukraine’s eastern defenses.
That would set the stage for a potentially broader Russian offensive that Ukrainian officials say could come as early as this month.
Russia launched waves of attacks on foot and in armored vehicles against outnumbered Ukrainian troops in Chasiv Yar, who have been left desperately short of ammunition as they wait for the United States and other allies to send fresh supplies.
Rows of mid-rise apartment blocks in Chasiv Yar have been blackened by explosions, pockmarked with holes or reduced to piles of wood and masonry. Houses and civilian buildings were severely damaged. The golden dome of a church remains intact, but the building appears badly damaged.
In the images filmed on Monday and obtained exclusively by AP, no soldiers or civilians are seen, apart from a lone man walking in the middle of a road between destroyed structures.
Regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said Wednesday on Ukrainian television that 682 residents have held out in Chasiv Yar, living in “very difficult conditions.” The city had a prewar population of more than 12,500. Filashkin said those who remain have been without running water and electricity for more than a year, and it is “increasingly difficult” for humanitarian aid to reach them.
The destruction highlights Russia’s scorched-earth tactics throughout more than two years of war, as its troops have killed and displaced thousands of civilians.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged on Monday that the delay in delivering military aid from allies to Ukraine had left the country at the mercy of the Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped forces.
Ukraine and its Western partners are rushing to deploy critical new military aid that can help slow the slow but steady Russian advance, as well as thwart drone and missile attacks.
Separately, Ukrainian authorities reported that two civilians were killed and at least nine others, including an 11-year-old boy, were wounded on Wednesday after Russian aerial bombs struck a village in the northeastern region of Kharkiv.
According to the governor. Oleh Syniehubov, a 64-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, both locals, died after one of the bombs detonated near his car in Zolochiv, about 20 kilometers from the Russian border.
In the southern Black Sea port of Odessa, at least 13 people were injured after a Russian ballistic missile hit the city on Wednesday night, the regional governor said. Oleh Kiper said in a Telegram update. He did not say what had been hit, but reported that the explosion had caused a major fire.
Videos circulating on social media show huge plumes of smoke rising into the sky at the site. Nova Poshta, a large Ukrainian postal and courier company, said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that one of its sorting warehouses had been attacked, but said no employees were among the injured.
Odessa has been a frequent target of Russian firepower, with eight civilians killed by Russian missiles in the city over the past two days.
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