Ukraine\u2019s army chief said on Saturday the situation on the eastern front had deteriorated in recent days with Russia intensifying its armoured assaults and battles raging for control of a village west of the devastated city of Bakhmut.
\nThe statement by Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi more than two years since Russia\u2019s invasion evoked the increasingly grim mood in Kyiv as vital U.S. military aid that Kyiv expected to receive months ago remains stuck in Congress.
\nSyrskyi said he travelled to the embattled area to stabilise the front as Russian assault groups using tanks and armoured personnel carriers took advantage of a period of dry, warm weather that was making it easier for them to manoeuvre.
\n\u201cThe situation on the eastern front in recent days has grown considerably more tense. This is linked primarily to the significant activisation of offensive action by the enemy after the presidential elections in Russia,\u201d he wrote on the Telegram app.
\nSince President Vladimir Putin won a new term in a stage-managed mid-March election, Russia has stepped up its attacks on Ukraine and unleashed three massive aerial strikes on its energy system, pounding power stations and substations.
\nThe slowdown in military assistance from the West has left Ukraine more exposed to aerial attacks and more outgunned on the battlefield. Kyiv has made increasingly desperate appeals for supplies of air defence missiles in recent weeks.
\nMoscow\u2019s forces, Syrskyi said, were taking significant losses during their attacks in the east, but were also sometimes making tactical gains.
\nSocial media channels reported the fall of Ukraine\u2019s eastern village of Bohdanivka to the west of Bakhmut, prompting Kyiv\u2019s defence ministry to deny them on Saturday, while acknowledging fierce fighting in the area.
\n\u201cEnemy assault groups reached outside the outskirts of the place at night. Bohdanivka is now under the control of the defence forces,\u201d it said.
\nThe village lies to the northeast of the town of Chasiv Yar, a Kyiv-controlled stronghold that Russia has been trying to reach after seizing the town of Avdiivka in February to the south.
\nSyrskyi said Russian armoured assault groups were attacking Kyiv\u2019s positions on the fronts of Lyman and Bakhmut, while using dozens of tanks and armoured personnel carriers to try to break through lines on Pokrovsk front.
\nThe Ukrainian military chief said only a technological advantage over Russia in sophisticated weapons would allow Kyiv \u201cto seize the strategic initiative\u201d from a better equipped and larger foe.
\nHe called for better training for soldiers and in particular infantry, a clear reference to Ukraine\u2019s manpower challenges.
\nUkraine\u2019s parliament passed a bill on Thursday to overhaul how the armed forces draft civilians into the ranks. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also signed legislation last week lowering the draft age from 27 to 25.
\n(Reuters)war. situation on the eastern front, Russia intensifying armoured assaults, battles for control of village<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The situation on the eastern front in Ukraine has worsened, with Russia intensifying its armoured assaults and battles for control of a village near Bakhmut. Vital U.S. military aid expected by Kyiv remains stuck in Congress. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Russian forces were taking losses but also making tactical gains. Ukraine’s military is facing challenges and is calling for better training for soldiers. Ukraine’s parliament passed a bill to overhaul how civilians are drafted into the armed forces, with the draft age lowered to 25.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":8071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[862,122,3258,6020,652,1943,5286,1234,6297,3492,2134,5334,1240,6196,6021,4393,1600,153,358,3277,2515,296,2685,2952,3504,1784,2470,3091,1799,1004,4843,3775,154,19,6296,2026,6295,817,1827,3269,1731,17,1180,1357,20,4396,4159,339,18],"class_list":["post-8070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-age","tag-aid","tag-air","tag-armed-forces","tag-army","tag-assault","tag-assistance","tag-attacks","tag-battles-for-control-of-village","tag-bill","tag-challenges","tag-civilians","tag-clear","tag-congress","tag-draft","tag-dry","tag-election","tag-elections","tag-energy","tag-energy-system","tag-february","tag-kyiv","tag-legislation","tag-media","tag-military","tag-military-aid","tag-missiles","tag-moscow","tag-parliament","tag-power","tag-president","tag-pressure","tag-putin","tag-russia","tag-russia-intensifying-armoured-assaults","tag-russian-forces","tag-situation-on-the-eastern-front","tag-social-media","tag-statement","tag-strikes","tag-training","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian","tag-vladimir-putin","tag-volodymyr-zelenskiy","tag-warm","tag-warm-weather","tag-weather","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n