Chasiv Yar, one of the longest and most fought-over battles in the Donbas of the Ukraine war, has fallen to Russian forces, with the last Ukrainian holdouts withdrawing from the southwestern part of the city in the past week, the open-source tracker AMK Mapping reported on July 29.

The city, reduced to rubble at a rate its trackers say outpaced even Bakhmut, held out for more than 840 days after Russia's first assault in April 2024.

Chasiv Yar's fall comes shortly after the collapse of the Ukrainian defence of the crucial “fortress belt” stronghold of Kostiantynivka, the logistics hub linking the other cities in the key Ukrainian defensive line of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka — a battle IntelliNews reported as still contested as of July 19. Russia’s high command claims that Kostiantynivka has been captured, but that is still unverified by Ukrainian officials. But the loss of clear control over Kostiantynivka has cut off Chasiv Yar's supply lines and made the position untenable; further withdrawals from the neighbouring towns of Mykolaivka, Chervone and Podilske are likely soon, AMK Mapping said.

The front moves toward Sloviansk

With Kostiantynivka gone, the fight has shifted to the last major urban centres Ukraine holds in Donbas: Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Russian units have reached roughly 10km east of both cities, according to French open-source analyst Clément Molin, after consolidating their hold on Siversk — which had resisted since December 2025 — and pushing 10-15km further west. Russian infiltrators were first captured near Mykolaivka, about 10km east of Sloviansk, three weeks ago; Russian soldiers have since been spotted on the town's eastern edge, a possible prelude to a battle for what Molin calls Sloviansk's "eastern gateway."

Unit positions and Russian infiltration routes east of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Source: @clement_molin

A second infiltration route runs through forest north of Rai Oleksandrivka, a small village whose surrounding high ground overlooks Sloviansk; Russian forces have spent more than a month consolidating positions there even as Ukrainian troops still hold parts of it. Further south, Russian units are crossing the Donets Canal daily, and several villages west of the canal have shifted into what Molin describes as a "grey zone" — if the infiltration continues, Russian soldiers could reach Kramatorsk's Bilenke district before year-end, he said.

If all three of Sloviansk, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka fall to the Armed Forces of Russia (AFR), then the Donbas will be lost to Russia – President Vladimir Putin’s main war goal.

Pressure spreads north to Dobropillia

The pressure is not confined to the Sloviansk axis. Around Dobropillia, further north, Russian sabotage units have reportedly cut the eastern road out of the town, leaving Ukrainian forces there with a single remaining supply line, according to open-source outlet Military Summary, which also reported Russia's Ministry of Defence claiming the capture of Krasnyi Kut as Moscow's forces press toward the eastern supply route from Kramatorsk. None of these individual claims have been independently verified.

The Russian advances seem to be picking up pace, even if the war elsewhere remains in a stalemate. IntelliNews' reported on July 8 that Sloviansk and Kramatorsk coming "increasingly within reach" of Russian advances. By July 19 Kostiantynivka was the immediate battleground, with the front "not collapsed" but analysts calling the campaign's phase critical. The events of the past week — Kostiantynivka's fall, Chasiv Yar's evacuation, and infiltration reaching the outskirts of Sloviansk itself — mark the fastest movement on this front since Russia took Siversk in December.

Nevertheless, the international reporting has still focused on the “turning point” narrative which has contributed to US President Donald Trump’s change of heart on Ukraine and renew support highlighted at the Washington meeting on July 28 and the White House decision to grant Ukraine a license to make Patriot missiles earlier this month during the Ankara Nato summit on July 8.