War in Ukraine: Moscow claims to have destroyed a fighter jet, Russian strike on a gas site… Update on the situation

The Ukrainian military says it withdrew from part of Chasiv Yarin in the Donbass

Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from an area of ​​the small town of Chasiv Yarn in Donetsk region, considered strategic by Kyiv and Moscow, a military spokesman said on national television on Thursday. According to the spokesman, Nasser Volosh, Ukrainian soldiers left a district in the east of the city that was completely destroyed by Russian bombings, where it was impossible for them to take refuge.

“The command has decided to return to more protected and better prepared positions, but even there, the enemy continues to launch attacks”, he added. Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday that its troops had taken control of the Chasiv Yar district after a months-long siege. The town, located on a hill twenty kilometers west of Bagmouth, was captured last year by the Russian army and mercenaries of the Wagner group at the cost of heavy losses.

Both Moscow and Kiev view Chasiv Yar as an obstacle preventing Russian forces from advancing towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, two key cities in the Donetsk region that Russia aims to capture. Taking advantage of a shell shortage that has crippled the Ukrainian military for months due to a lack of agreement in the US and Congress, the Russian military has slowly pulled out of the Donbass region since capturing Avtivka in February amid recruiting difficulties in Kyiv.

Nevertheless, Moscow’s troops have suffered heavy losses, especially in armored vehicles, and most of their attacks have been carried out almost entirely by infantry after massive bombardments of Ukrainian positions, particularly dropped by Russian aircraft far from the front line.

One killed in Russian attack on gas plant in eastern Ukraine

One person was killed and three others injured in a Russian attack on a gas plant in eastern Ukraine’s Poltava region, the Energy Ministry announced on Thursday. “On July 3, Russia attacked the Poltava region. Damaged infrastructure included the UkrGasVydobuvannya facility”The country’s main gas producer, the ministry said in a telegram.

He added that one electrical worker was killed and three others were injured “Steps are underway to deal with the consequences” of this attack.

Ukraine, which has faced a Russian invasion for more than two years, has seen much of its energy infrastructure destroyed by Russian bombings in recent months, knocking out power to almost its entire territory. His military responds by attacking Russian territory, including energy installations and fuel depots used for military operations on Ukrainian soil.

For months, President Volodymyr Zelensky has called on his allies to urgently provide his country with new air defense systems to help it deal with Russian attacks. According to him, Russia has destroyed half of its country’s energy production capacity. Its restoration requires significant investments.

Two people were killed in the attack by Russia in Zaporizhia

Two people were killed in Russian strikes in Ukraine’s Zaporozhye region, regional governor Ivan Fedorov announced Thursday morning. “A man and a woman died in enemy shelling” Another person was wounded, the governor said in a telegram, counting 391 Russian attacks in ten municipalities in the Zaporizhia region in the past 24 hours.

Claims fighter jet destroyed at Moscow air base

Russia said on Thursday it destroyed a MiG-29 fighter jet in an attack on a Ukrainian air base in the Dnipro region of east-central Ukraine. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the plane and other equipment and vehicles located at the Dolzhintsevo base were destroyed by an Iskander ballistic missile.

The ministry posted pictures on its Telegram account to illustrate the operation. On Tuesday, Russia said it had destroyed five Su-27 fighter jets at an air base near Mirgorod, 150 km from the Russian border.

The airfield attacks come as Ukraine eagerly awaits delivery of F-16 fighter jets. Securing the bases where they are stationed is a challenge for the Ukrainians and their Western allies.