RIGHT SPEAK: UKR Faces Key Battle In Chasiv Yar, A 'Door' To Donbas; Chasiv Yar Remains Under UKR’s Control; Oil Pipeline Blown Up in RU's Rostov Oblast; Kharkiv Desirable Target for RUs, But Currently Protected; 50 Combat Clashes F-Line; RU Loses: +/-800 Sold, 41 Art-Sys, 24 Tanks, UKR Downs 28 Drones, 2 Mis, LIVE UPDATES and LOTS MORE

Ukraine Faces Key Battle In Chasiv Yar, A 'Door' To Donbas:

Sitting in a steamy kitchen, Ukrainian soldier Anton was ready to go on a new rotation to defend Chasiv Yar, a strategic town for troops fighting for control of the eastern Donbas region.

After a year of mostly-frozen front line, Russian forces are pushing against a Ukrainian army struggling with manpower and ammunition shortages amid delays in Western aid.

Determined to build on recent gains, Russian forces are aiming to seize the dominant heights of Chasiv Yar.

The town lies some 20 kilometres (12 miles) west of Bakhmut, which Russia seized last May after months of brutal battles.

"If Russians take Chasiv Yar, the door to other cities will open... so it's important to block them there," 40-year-old Anton said.

From Chasiv Yar's heights, they would have a powerful foothold and be able to target cities downhill: first Kramatorsk and then, potentially, Sloviansk.

The two civilian hubs hold a symbolic value for Moscow: a decade ago, pro-Russian separatists briefly seized the cities in the first clashes with Kyiv.

Now on the front line, Chasiv Yar lies down the road from Bakhmut.

In that direction, Anton said Russia is using "a lot of manpower, quite a lot of ammunition, there is constant aviation and artillery work."

For now, the soldier from the 5th Assault Brigade said his unit was "managing to hold on."

Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers said Friday Russian troops had reached the town's outskirts. --->READ MORE HERE

Chasiv Yar remains under Ukraine’s control – CinC Syrskyi:

The Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, says the settlement of Chasiv Yar remains under the control of the country’s Defense Forces, and all attempts by the Russians to break through toward the settlement have so far failed.

That’s according to Syrskyi’s posting on Facebook, seen by Ukrinform.

According to Sirskyi, the situation in the hostility zones remains difficult. Enjoying air superiority, as well as an upper hand in missile and munitions stocks, the enemy keeps trying to advance to the administrative border of Donetsk region.

As the commander-in-chief emphasized, the Russian invasion army continues to run offensive operations day and night, deploying assault groups with armored support. In separate directions, the Russians are trying to storm Ukraine’s positions in waves, sending in platoon- or company-strong teams, sometimes deploying battalion-sized groups.

A particularly challenging situation has developed in the Bakhmut direction in the areas east of Chasiv Yar and Klishchiivka, in the Avdiivka direction – in the areas of Berdychiv, Orlivka, Vodiane, and Pervomaiske, and in the Novopavlivka direction – near Novomykhailivka, Syrskyi emphasized.

"Today, the fiercest battles are underway in the areas of Pervomaiske and Vodiane, as well as east of Chasiv Yar, where the enemy is trying to break through our defense lines. Chasiv Yar remains under our control as all the enemy's attempts to advance toward the settlement have failed," he emphasized.