Situation on frontline has worsened, Ukraine army chief says
The commander-in-chief of Ukraine has remarked that the situation along the frontline has deteriorated due to repeated Russian assaults. Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Ukrainian forces have pulled back from positions in the eastern Donetsk region.
Russia aims to exploit its numerical and artillery superiority before Ukrainian troops receive essential shipments of new weaponry from the US.
Despite the recent approval of a $61 billion military assistance package for Ukraine by the US, the delivery of new weapons has yet to reach the frontline, where Ukrainian soldiers have been grappling with shortages of ammunition, personnel, and air defense systems for several months.
Gen Syrskyi conveyed this assessment via a post on the Telegram messaging service on Sunday.
He confirmed the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from certain positions in a sector of Donetsk that had previously constituted part of a defensive perimeter established after the fall of Avdiivka to Russian forces in February.
Most of the recent skirmishes have occurred around Chasiv Yar, a stronghold controlled by Kyiv, which Russia has been attempting to breach following its capture of Avdiivka.
In response to the Russian advance, new defensive positions were established further west in certain areas, although Gen Syrskyi acknowledged the loss of territory to the advancing Russian forces.
Moscow had secured “tactical successes in some sectors,” he said.
Gen Syrskyi added that rested Ukrainian brigades were being rotated in those areas to replace units that had suffered losses.
Russia’s defense ministry earlier on Sunday reported its troops had captured the village of Novobakhmutivka, around 10 km (6 miles) north of Avdiivka.
Gen Syrskyi became commander-in-chief of the country’s armed forces in February.
It followed speculation about a rift between his predecessor, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Earlier this month, Gen Syrskyi warned the battlefield situation in the east of the country had “significantly worsened”.
The commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, said this week that he was expecting an attempt by Russian forces to advance on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, which is near the Russian border.
US President Joe Biden this week signed off on a $95bn (£76bn) package of aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan after months of gridlock amid opposition to the aid from some in Congress.
The Senate passed a similar aid package in February, but a group of conservatives who oppose new Ukraine support had prevented it from coming to a vote in the House of Representatives.
On Friday, the Pentagon said it would “rush” Patriot air defence missiles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of its new military aid package.
Between February 2022 and January 2024, the US gave Ukraine more than $40bn in military aid, according to German research organisation, the Kiel Institute.