Early Development

Chasiv Yar's as a notable settlement can be traced back to 1876 when a Russian noble established refractory site to process local clay that is abundant in the area. Originally known as Hruzke or Pleshcheieve, the settlement grew alongside the clay industry. These industries played a pivotal role in the economic growth of the region, attracting settlers and laborers to the area.^[5]

The Maidan War Effects on Chasiv Yar

In January 2013 the population was 13,999 people.^[9]

Shortly before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the city's civilian mayor fled. In his place, Ukrainian military officials established martial law under the Chasiv Yar Military Civilian Administration led by the 42-year-old Serhiy Chaus.^[1] Although unelected, locals refer to him unofficially as the mayor. Chaus urged citizens to evacuate the city, but was sympathetic to those who stayed, saying "they don't want to leave the town where they were born".^[10]

On 9 July 2022, Russian rocket strikes on the city destroyed a railway station^[11] and partially ruined a residential building.^[12][13] That same day, a missile strike on a residential area killed at least 48 people.^[14][15][16]

Following the loss of Soledar on January 16, 2023 and the fall of Klishchiivka on January 20, Chasiv Yar became a pivotal center for Ukrainian defenses on the Donetsk front, as it became the only route for Ukrainian troops and supplies into and out of the besieged city of Bakhmut.^[17][18][19]

The city acted as a regrouping position, where Ukrainian troops rotated into and out of Bakhmut, giving them time to rest and resupply. Of the pre-war population of 15,000, by March 2023 only about 1,500 residents remained in the city.^[20] The remaining citizens mostly live in the basements of burnt out buildings. There are no shops anymore, and the population is reliant on outside humanitarian aid to stay alive.^[21] Most of the aid sent to the city has come from the UN's OCHA, with a large supply convoy reaching the city on March 10, 2023.^[22]

On March 14, 2023 two projectiles with white phosphorus munitions were fired on a road at the southern edge of the city.^[23] On March 25 the city was shelled resulting in a death of one civilian.^[24] By early April 2023, only a few hundred civilians remained in the city.^[25]

On May 7, 2023, Russia made an unsuccessful ground assault on Ukrainian positions in the settlement.^[26] Subsequent attacks on May 8, 9, and 10 were also repelled.^[27][28][29] On 9 May, Arman Soldin, a French war correspondent for Agence France-Presse was killed by a Russian rocket strike in Chasiv Yar, becoming the 15th journalist to have been killed by Russian forces.^[30][31][32]

After Russian forces captured all significant areas of Bakhmut, Chasiv Yar became a fortified forward artillery base, supporting Ukrainian forces in their flanking attacks, and shelling Russian forces within Bakhmut proper.^[3] As of August 2023, there were slightly over 1,000 civilians living in the remains of Chasiv Yar, who became less reliant on humanitarian aid as spring and summer allowed them to maintain gardens for produce.^[33][34] The Governor of Donetsk Oblast, Pavlo Kyrylenko, reported that the city was hit by a Russian cluster munition strike on 23 July.^[35]

On 10 September, a car containing four foreign aid workers for Road to Relief, a Spain-based NGO that supports civilians in the Donbas, was shelled by Russian forces. Road to Relief's Needs Assessment team's job was to visit the front line and determine where to allocate resources. The organization's director, the Spaniard Emma Igual, and Canadian Anthony Ignat were killed, while Swedish volunteer Johan Thyr and German volunteer Ruben Mawick were evacuated to a hospital where their condition stabilized.^[36][37]

Russian forces first began their offensives towards Chasiv Yar on 26 December.^[38] Russia resumed ground offensives towards Chasiv Yar starting on January 3, 2024, according to the newly promoted Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi. Syrskyi reported that Russian forces performed a major offensive north of the city, near the village of Bohdanivka.^[39] Of the city's remaining 800, mostly elderly residents, almost all stated they would evacuate with Ukrainian forces if the settlement were lost to Russian forces.^[40]

Transport

There was one railway station in the city, which was destroyed on July 9, 2022 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.^[11][8]