MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The Russian military is trapping units of the Ukrainian army in Chasov Yar and eliminating them on their approaches to the town, the chief of the operational staff of the Melody Intelligence Center of the Espanola Volunteer Brigade of the battlegroup South told TASS.

"The liberation of Chasov Yar from Ukrainian forces is currently underway. Units of the Russian Armed Forces, including the 200th Brigade, the 98th Airborne Division, the 1st Volunteer Corps, the Vostok Brigade, the 88th Espanola Brigade, and others, are engaged in the operation within the city. Enemy forces are being neutralized on their approaches to the town, while Russian assault units continue to secure houses and streets in intense urban combat, leaving the enemy no opportunity for a counterattack," he stated.

The official reported that fighters from the 98th Airborne Division were engaged in fierce battles. According to the officer, the basements of high-rise buildings had long been used as command and control points and temporary deployment sites for elite units of the Ukrainian army that had managed to retreat from the city. "However, the enemy will not easily relinquish these buildings. Each one has been transformed into a small fortress, as losing them would cut off the Ukrainian troops' ability to supply the main garrison stationed in the multi-storey buildings in the city center," the official stated.