Russia eyes Ukraine’s ‘fortress belt’ after fall of Chasiv Yar

A woman waits for her son to be rescued from under the debris, at the site of an apartment building hit during Russian missile and drone attackds, in Kyiv on July 31, 2025. At least 31 people were killed in the assault [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]

During a difficult week in Ukraine’s ground war, Russian troops completed their conquest of Chasiv Yar, a high ground in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, and claimed to have breached the outskirts of Kupiansk, a city with a pre-war population of more than 26,000, in Ukraine’s northern Kharkiv region.

Both conquests are the result of months-long efforts and have cost the Russians dearly in blood and weapons.