Russian troops have taken control of parts of a key hilltop town in eastern Ukraine, a strategic gain that could pose major problems for Ukrainian troops trying to defend the area from further advances.
The relatively small town of Chasiv Yar has played an outsized role in the conflict and has been battered by months of intense fighting. Sitting on high ground, it is seen as a gateway to the parts of the Donetsk region that are still in Ukrainian hands. The town overlooks the lower-laying areas to the north, towards the bigger cities of Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, and to the west towards Dnipropetrovsk region.
