The head of the Ukrainian army says Russia dominates the front in several areas

Fighting has intensified along the frontline in eastern Ukraine, with Russia exploiting its advantage over Kiev’s forces along several axes, Ukraine’s top soldier said.

“In an attempt to seize the strategic initiative and break the front line, the enemy has concentrated his main efforts in a number of directions,” Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a lengthy post on Telegram and Facebook on Sunday.

This happened because Russia “has created a significant advantage in terms of forces and capabilities,” he added. “The situation at the front has escalated.”

Kremlin forces have attacked along the length of the front line and achieved “tactical successes” in some areas, while Ukraine can still make local gains in others, Syrskyi said. He described the situation as “dynamic,” with some positions changing hands multiple times a day.

The assessment comes as Ukraine expects the arrival of the long-awaited batch of US military equipment. It also confirms recent warnings from US and British officials that Vladimir Putin’s forces have tried to press their advantage, while Kiev’s forces are underequipped and short on manpower.

Syrskyi listed six areas where Russia is making progress with increased pressure. The most difficult situation is west of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, where Moscow’s troops forced the Ukrainians to abandon some positions near the cities of Kurakhove and Pokrovsk.

Russian forces expanded their control further north of Donetsk by capturing the town of Novobakhmutivka, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Sunday. Ukraine has not commented on the city’s status.

Moscow’s forces also had limited success near a key logistics hub Kupyansk in the northeast, as well as north of Bakhmut, according to Syrskyi. Putin’s commanders are monitoring a possible offensive move toward Slovyansk, the Ukrainian-occupied city that was the scene of heavy fighting since 2014.

Ukrainian forces were able to improve their positions near Kupjansk and Lyman and liberate another island in the vast Dnipro river delta near Kherson, Syrskyi said.

Military commanders are also monitoring Russia’s troop buildup near Kharkiv, not far from the border in northeastern Ukraine, even though Kiev sees no immediate threat of a major offensive in the north.

“Russian forces are likely to make significant tactical gains in the coming weeks as Ukraine awaits US security assistance on the front, but are unlikely to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses,” the US-based Institute for the Study of War wrote in a late-night update. .

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