Fierce drone attacks, unexploded ordnances plague Ukraine's Chasiv Yar

He discussed this on Espreso TV.

"The situation in the town remains consistently difficult and dangerous. Currently, around 230 people remain in the town, most of them elderly. Hostilities continue within the community itself. Russia is using nearly its entire arsenal, from aviation to mortar shelling—all of this targets Chasiv Yar. The town has been heavily damaged for a long time now, to put it mildly. Many buildings have sustained critical damage, yet around 230 residents remain in the community. It is hard to call this living; it is essentially survival. We are trying to provide assistance, but with each passing day, it becomes more difficult due to the intense drone activity and the dangers of accessing most areas of the town. Nevertheless, we continue to deliver bread, water, and fuel briquettes, but the quantities have significantly decreased. Firstly, there are fewer people, and secondly, there are limitations in transporting these essential supplies into the town," Chaus explained.

He also noted that, aside from drones, unexploded ordnance along the roads leading to the town poses a significant danger.

"First and foremost, there is the activity of FPV drones, which are the main threat when approaching or moving within the town. In addition to the drone activity, there is a large amount of unexploded ordnance left behind. Recently, we have observed such ordnance along the roads to the town. As a result, the roads are dangerous. While it is possible to pass through, the cost of doing so is another matter," he said.

According to Chaus, the Russians are targeting both vehicles and civilians with drones. Last week, an elderly man riding a bicycle in the town was killed.

"The enemy is not only hunting vehicles. We have numerous examples where FPV drones target civilians riding bicycles, for instance. Last week, an elderly man, born in 1948, was killed. He could not possibly be mistaken for a soldier, yet an FPV drone targeted him—this is just one example of what is happening in the town. Most people use armored vehicles, but we all understand that, unfortunately, there are not enough of these vehicles for everyone. People drive various types of cars, and what helps us a little in this situation are electronic warfare systems (EW)," Serhii Chaus noted.

• As of December 25, there were 7,500 people in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, and all children had been evacuated. In Chasiv Yar, there were 249 residents remaining. 
• On January 4, Ivan Stupak, a military expert and former SBU officer, noted that the Russian army might attempt a large-scale encirclement of Ukrainian forces from Pokrovsk to Chasiv Yar.