On Ukraine’s Eastern Front, Artillery Crews Fight To Stop Russian Advance

This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.

NEAR CHASIV YAR, Ukraine — The battle for Chasiv Yar remains one of the fiercest along the eastern front in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

Perched on high ground, the city holds strategic importance: if Russian forces seize it, they could push toward nearby Kostyantynivka and move closer to key hubs like Kramatorsk and Slovyansk.

Russian troops are employing a mix of tactics in the area — including guided aerial bombs, artillery barrages, ground assaults, and swarms of first-person view (FPV) drones.

At a frontline artillery position near Chasiv Yar, Ukrainian gunners from the 24th Separate Mechanized Brigade continue to fight under constant aerial threat.

In a recent visit by RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, soldiers described being under near-constant drone surveillance and attacks. They responded with steady fire, targeting Russian positions, vehicles, and trench systems.

“Whatever they’ve got over there, we’ll destroy it,” said one artilleryman using the call sign Bur.

The rise of FPV and fiber-optic controlled drones has reshaped the battlefield.

What was once considered the relative safety of the rear — even 25 kilometers back — is now within striking range.

Ukrainian troops are adapting by using shotguns to try to shoot drones out of the sky. “It’s like hunting now,” said one soldier.

Despite exhaustion, the artillery crews remain determined.

“We’ll hold it,” one soldier said. “We’ve got shells, people are working.”

For these troops, the war has become a long, exhausting effort, but one they see as unavoidable.

As long as Russian forces press forward, they say, their guns will keep firing.