ABC: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine —\u00a0Relentless Russian attacks on Ukrainian positions defending the strategically important eastern city of\u00a0Chasiv Yar<\/a>\u00a0are disrupting troop rotations and the delivery of some supplies, soldiers in the area say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Kremlin\u2019s army is seeking to press its advantages in troop numbers and weaponry before Ukrainian forces are bulked up by promised new Western military aid<\/a> that is already trickling to the front line, analysts say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It has been hitting civilian targets just as hard, using powerful glide bombs<\/a> that obliterate buildings and leave huge craters. Its monthslong campaign to cripple Ukraine\u2019s electricity supply<\/a> aims to sap public morale and deny energy to Ukraine\u2019s burgeoning arms industry<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Attacks on such civilian targets brought arrest warrants<\/a> from the International Criminal Court on Tuesday for former Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov for alleged war crimes. Judges said there is evidence they \u201cintentionally caused great suffering or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health\u201d of Ukrainian civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Ukrainian soldiers defending the eastern Donetsk<\/a> region, the Russian ground assaults and aerial barrages allow little respite after more than two years of war<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe work, you could say, without rest,\u201d said a platoon commander who, in line with his brigade’s rules, identified himself only by his first name, Oleksandr.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo no two days are alike. You always need to be ready to work day and night,\u201d he told The Associated Press on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His platoon is part of Ukraine\u2019s 43rd Artillery Brigade. It dashes to positions and without delay fires a Soviet-era Pion self-propelled howitzer at Russian positions before it can be targeted itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Holding Chasiv Yar is crucial. The town, highly sought-after due to its strategic location and elevated position but now largely in ruins, lies to the west of neighboring Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia last year after a 10-month battle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ukraine is racing to stabilize parts of the about 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line after badly needed military assistance was approved by the United States in April. A six-month delay<\/a> in U.S. aid threw Ukraine\u2019s military onto the defensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Members of the artillery brigade in Chasiv Yar reported that supplies of American ammunition have started to arrive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n