Chasiv Yar is the foyer of Kostiantynivka, a larger town that has served as an important Ukrainian military staging ground. “Their intention is to approach the main transit hubs and thereby render the defense of Donetsk (Oblast) systemically difficult to sustain,” said Michael Kofman, a military scholar with the D.C.-based Carnegie Endowment.In the past few days, this force breached Ukrainian defenses, overrunning Ocheretyne, a front-line village in Donetsk Oblast. The beleaguered defenders withdrew from several nearby villages on April 28, as Russia continued the pressure.The infographic shows the Russian offensive on Ocheretyne as of May 1, 2024. (Lisa Kukharska / The Kyiv Independent)Though they’ve kept the Russians from breaking through, Ukrainian units are having a very hard time on this part of the front.