Ukraine’s top commander has said KyivThe number of soldiers is very high returned to new positions West of three villages on the eastern front where Russia Important forces have been concentrated at many places.
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky’s statement reflects Ukraine’s deteriorating situation in the east that Kiev hopes could stabilize after taking delivery of US weapons under a $61 billion (£48 billion) aid package approved this week.
“The situation at the front has worsened,” he wrote on the Telegram app, describing the “most difficult” areas as west of occupied Maryinka and northwest of Avdeevka, a town captured by Russian forces in February.
Kiev’s forces have taken up new positions at the villages of Berdichi and Semenivka, north of Avdiivka, to the west and Novomikhailivka to the south, near the town of Maryinka, he said.
“In general, the enemy achieved some tactical successes in these areas, but could not gain operational advantages,” Sirsky said. He said Russia had committed four brigades to the attack.
He said recently rested Ukrainian brigades were being rotated into those areas to replace units that had suffered losses.
His statement did not mention the situation in Novobakhmutivka, another village near Berdichi, which Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Sunday its forces had captured.
Taking advantage of artillery shells and Ukrainian shortages of manpower, Moscow’s troops have been slowly advancing since capturing the fortress town of Avdiivka.
Online battlefield maps produced by open-source intelligence analysts show that since capturing Avdiivka they have advanced more than 15 km (9.5 mi) in the direction of the village of Ocheretyn.
Further ahead, the Kiev-held city of Chasiv Yar is a key emerging battlefield because of its position on high ground that can serve as a gateway to the cities of Kostiantynivka, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
Colonel General Sirsky described Chasiv Yar and the village of Ivanivske to its north-east as “the hottest spots” on that part of the front. Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had repelled Ukrainian counter-attacks near Chasiv Yar.
In what could prove to be a worrying development for Ukraine, Colonel General Syrsky said his forces were closely monitoring the increase in the number of Russian troops in the area of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city.
The northeastern city of 1.3 million, just 30 kilometers from the Russian border, has been devastated by air strikes in recent months in what Kiev has said is a deliberate effort by Moscow to make Kharkiv uninhabitable.
Colonel General Sirsky said that there are indications that Russia is preparing a direct attack in the north of the country.
“In the most dangerous directions, our troops have been reinforced by artillery and tank units,” he said.
Ukraine is currently expecting a long-awaited shipment of US military aid, which officials say is vital to staving off Russia’s two-year-old aggression.
A Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters this week that Russia was carrying out airstrikes on Ukrainian rail lines to disrupt US arms deliveries to the front lines and complicate military logistics.
The battlefield update came after Russian drones struck the Black Sea city of Mykolaiv early Sunday, setting a hotel on fire and damaging energy infrastructure, Ukrainian officials said. Vitaly Kim, the governor of Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv province, said Russian drones “seriously damaged” a hotel in its eponymous capital, causing a fire that was later extinguished. Mr Kim also said the attack had damaged the city’s heat-producing infrastructure. He said there were no casualties.
Russian state agency RIA claimed that the attack on Mykolaiv targeted a shipyard where naval drones are assembled, as well as a hotel housing “English-speaking mercenaries” who have fought for Kiev. The RIA report cites Sergei Lebedev, described as a coordinator of local pro-Moscow guerrillas. Kiev has accused Russia of targeting civilians.
Reuters with the Associated Press