<p>Ukraine's military said on Thursday its forces had forced Russian troops out of a district in the town of Chasiv Yar on the war's eastern front seen as Moscow's next target in its slow advance through the area.</p><p>But a Russian report said Moscow's forces had destroyed a communications tower near the town and made further headway.</p><p>Russian forces are slowly pushing their way across parts of eastern Ukraine, capturing several villages since seizing the key city of Avdiivka in February.</p><p>Chasiv Yar stands on high ground 20 km (12 miles) to the west of Bakhmut, a town Russian forces captured a year ago after months of battles. Both sides see Chasiv Yar as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on the key cities of the eastern Donetsk region, including Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.</p>.Russia considering downgrading relations with the West, the Kremlin says.<p>Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told the Ukrinform news agency that Russian forces had moved out of Chasiv Yar's "Kanal" district along the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal that runs along the town's eastern edge.</p><p>"Ukrainian defenders have indeed squeezed Russian forces out of the Kanal district in Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region," Ukrinform quoted Voloshyn as saying. "The enemy army is no longer there."</p><p>Voloshyn told other Ukrainian media outlets that Russian troops were shelling Kyiv's forces in more than 200 incidents over 24 hours, mostly on the town's southern approaches.</p><p>The Ukrainian military's General Staff, in a late evening report on Thursday, said Russian troops had tried to push back Ukrainian forces six times near Chasiv Yar. Three attacks were repelled and fighting still gripped the area.</p><p>Ukraine's embassy in Washington posted a plea on social media platform X to stop Russia's advance on Chasiv Yar, saying Russia was "desperately trying to wipe out the town targeting even damaged churches and civilian residential blocks of flats.</p><p>"We must prevent Russia from turning it into a ghost city before it's too late."</p><p>A dispatch by Russia's Tass news agency quoted the commander of a Russian brigade, Stanislav Orlov, as saying his forces had destroyed a communications tower on the town's highest point.</p><p>"This allowed for a breakthrough to be made without losses," the dispatch quoted him as saying.</p><p>Ukraine has long anticipated a Russian advance on the town.</p><p>Its top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said last month that Moscow's forces had hoped to capture Chasiv Yar in time for May 9 ceremonies marking the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War Two.</p>
<p>Ukraine's military said on Thursday its forces had forced Russian troops out of a district in the town of Chasiv Yar on the war's eastern front seen as Moscow's next target in its slow advance through the area.</p><p>But a Russian report said Moscow's forces had destroyed a communications tower near the town and made further headway.</p><p>Russian forces are slowly pushing their way across parts of eastern Ukraine, capturing several villages since seizing the key city of Avdiivka in February.</p><p>Chasiv Yar stands on high ground 20 km (12 miles) to the west of Bakhmut, a town Russian forces captured a year ago after months of battles. Both sides see Chasiv Yar as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on the key cities of the eastern Donetsk region, including Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.</p>.Russia considering downgrading relations with the West, the Kremlin says.<p>Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told the Ukrinform news agency that Russian forces had moved out of Chasiv Yar's "Kanal" district along the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal that runs along the town's eastern edge.</p><p>"Ukrainian defenders have indeed squeezed Russian forces out of the Kanal district in Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region," Ukrinform quoted Voloshyn as saying. "The enemy army is no longer there."</p><p>Voloshyn told other Ukrainian media outlets that Russian troops were shelling Kyiv's forces in more than 200 incidents over 24 hours, mostly on the town's southern approaches.</p><p>The Ukrainian military's General Staff, in a late evening report on Thursday, said Russian troops had tried to push back Ukrainian forces six times near Chasiv Yar. Three attacks were repelled and fighting still gripped the area.</p><p>Ukraine's embassy in Washington posted a plea on social media platform X to stop Russia's advance on Chasiv Yar, saying Russia was "desperately trying to wipe out the town targeting even damaged churches and civilian residential blocks of flats.</p><p>"We must prevent Russia from turning it into a ghost city before it's too late."</p><p>A dispatch by Russia's Tass news agency quoted the commander of a Russian brigade, Stanislav Orlov, as saying his forces had destroyed a communications tower on the town's highest point.</p><p>"This allowed for a breakthrough to be made without losses," the dispatch quoted him as saying.</p><p>Ukraine has long anticipated a Russian advance on the town.</p><p>Its top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said last month that Moscow's forces had hoped to capture Chasiv Yar in time for May 9 ceremonies marking the anniversary of the Soviet victory in World War Two.</p>