Russia brings in 'top-level' FSB Presidential Regiment to Chasiv Yar, Ukraine's army says
Russian forces attempting to take the Ukrainian city of Chasiv Yar have been bolstered by the elite FSB Presidential Regiment, Suspilne media reported on May 11.
Chasiv Yar is a strategically important town in Donetsk Oblast and the scene of an intense, long-running, and bloody battle that began in early April 2024.
According to Ivan Petrychak, spokesperson for the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade, Russian forces continue to be unsuccessful in their attempts to capture the city, and have called upon the elite regiment for reinforcement.
Petrychak said the Russian 98th Parachute Division has been joined by the FSB Presidential Regiment, "significantly strengthening them."
"These are top-level specialists. Now we have to face very intense fighting, and very accurate and precise work," he said.
"If the Russians are using this level of specialists in urban combat, they are probably facing some difficulties as well."
The FSB Presidential Regiment — also known as the Kremlin Regiment — is responsible for the security of the Kremlin, the valuables stored within it, and state officials, as well as conducting ceremonial duties such as the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexander Garden, Moscow.
It is not typically deployed to fight abroad.
Russia's months-long attacks on Chasiv Yar are part of its grinding, slow, and costly advances in Donetsk Oblast.
"Now the battles in Chasiv Yar have an urban warfare character. When they can't take it by storm, they get the air force and just destroy the city, neighborhood by neighborhood," Petrychak said.
Since the fall of Bakhmut in May 2023 and the fall of Avdiivka in February 2024, Russian forces overran one village after another and took up positions close to Chasiv Yar.
Located on hills that serve as natural defensive structures, Chasiv Yar town boasts the highest point in the area, a strategic point for any army wanting to gain an advantage.
The town is divided in the east by the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal, creating a barrier between the Kanal micro-district and the rest of the town.
Throughout most of spring 2024, Kyiv's forces managed to keep Russian troops out of the town. On June 27, 2024, the Ukrainian army reported it had pushed out Russian forces that had entered the Kanal neighborhood.
In early 2025, the Russian military seized the Chasiv Yar Refractory Plant, Ukrainska Pravda reported on January 18, but this was not confirmed by Ukrainian officials.
On March 7, DeepState analysts said fighting was going on throughout the whole city, with Russians trying to hide in the high-rise buildings' ruins.
As of April 28, 156 residents remained in Chasiv Yar, according to Ruslan Pryimenko, deputy head of the Chasiv Yar military administration.
Read also: EU to unveil new sanctions against Russia on May 14, source says
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