Ukraine military chief warns of ‘significantly’ worsening battlefield situation in the east
- Warmer weather has allowed Russia to ramp up its assaults in the region, as tanks can now more easily move across previously muddy terrain
- Reports say Moscow’s forces have captured at least 2 more villages in recent pushes, though Kyiv says ‘intense fighting’ continues at one of the sites
Ukraine’s military chief on Saturday warned that the battlefield situation in the industrial east has “significantly worsened in recent days”, as warming weather allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh push along several stretches of the more than 1,000km-long (620-mile) front line.
In an update on the Telegram messaging app, General Oleksandr Syrskyy said that Moscow had “significantly” ramped up its assaults since President Vladimir Putin extended his nearly quarter-century rule in a preordained election last month that saw anti-war candidates barred from the ballot and independent voices silenced in a Kremlin-backed media blockade.
According to Syrskyy, Russian forces have been “actively attacking” Ukrainian positions in three areas of the eastern Donetsk region, near the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut and Pokrovsk, and beginning to launch tank assaults as drier, warmer spring weather has made it easier for heavy vehicles to move across previously muddy terrain.
“Despite significant losses, the enemy is intensifying its efforts by using new units [equipped with] armoured vehicles, thanks to which it periodically achieves tactical success,” Syrskyy said.
A Russian defence ministry spokesman on Saturday confirmed the capture of a village that had been the site of fierce fighting for close to eighteen months. Analysts from Ukraine’s non-governmental Deep State group, which tracks frontline developments, had reported on Russia’s takeover of Pervomaiske, some 45km (28 miles) southeast of Pokrovsk, in the early hours of Thursday.