War with Russia: Ukraine acknowledges “extremely complex” situation on battlefront

The new commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Sirski, acknowledged on Wednesday, after a visit to the front, that the situation is “extremely complex” and that Ukraine lacks men and weapons to face the Russian invasion.

These difficulties could be exacerbated if the new American aid package, crucial to Kiev’s arsenal, remains blocked by divisions between Democrats and Republicans.

“The Russian occupiers continue to increase their efforts and outnumber” to Ukrainian forces, General Sirski said on Telegram. “The operational situation is extremely complex and stressful,” he added.

“We are doing everything possible to prevent the enemy from advancing on our territory and to maintain our positions,” the new commander-in-chief stressed, acknowledging that his forces are suffering to contain multiple Russian attacks in the east.

The Ukrainian government, however, continues to make the Russian fleet suffer in the Black Sea, like this Wednesday, when he announced the destruction of another warship.

On the land front, the goal is to recover nearly 20% of Ukraine’s territory occupied by Russian forces It still seems very far away.

Syrsky, long the commander of Kiev’s military operations in the east, was promoted to army chief last week and President Volodymyr Zelensky He called for “changes” after the failure of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in mid-2023.

During his first visit to the front as commander-in-chief, the general was accompanied by Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and passed through the cities of Avdiivka and Kupiansk, two of the hot spots.

“We are taking all possible measures to minimize our losses,” he assured.

Since October, Russian forces have carried out massive attacks and bombings to capture Avdiivka, a largely destroyed industrial city.

Since January the position of the Ukrainian defenders has worsened and the city’s mayor, Vitaly Barabach, recently spoke of a “critical” situation in some neighborhoods.

On the other hand, in the Black Sea, where Ukraine managed to repel the powerful Russian fleet in 2023 with the help of missiles and drones, Kiev announced on Wednesday the destruction of another enemy ship.

“The Ukrainian Armed Forces, with military intelligence units, destroyed a large landing ship, the ‘Caesar Kunikov'”the Army General Staff said on its Telegram channel.

Ukraine’s Military Intelligence Department (GUR) said it used Magura V5 naval drones to destroy the vessel off the coast of the Black Sea coast of Alupka. causing “critical holes” which led to its sinking.

According to the Ukrainian army, since the war began two years ago, 24 ships and one submarine were “disabled”which would represent a third of Russian ships in the Black Sea.

Russia rarely acknowledges its losses, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the Ukrainian claims on Wednesday.

In parallel, the Russian army continues its attacks on Ukrainian cities near the Eastern Front.

Early on Wednesday morning, a mother together with her nine-year-old son, as well as a 38-year-old pregnant woman, died in an attack that hit a hospital in the city of Selidove (east), according to Ukrainian authorities.

A few hours later, another Russian attack killed two women, aged 62 and 74, in the village of Mikolaivka, 80 kilometers northeast in the same Donetsk region, according to the regional governor.