(AFP) The new commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, acknowledged on Wednesday (14), after a visit to the front line, that the situation is “extremely complex” and that Ukraine does not have the men and weapons necessary to face the Russian invasion. These difficulties could be exacerbated if a new aid package from the United States, crucial for Kiev’s arsenal, continues to be blocked by divisions between Democratic and Republican congressmen.
“The Russian occupiers continue to increase their efforts and outnumber” the Ukrainian forces, General Syrskyi 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 hold our positions,” stressed the new commander-in-chief, acknowledging that his forces are struggling to contain multiple Russian attacks in the east.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said he had received “increasing reports of Ukrainian troops rationing or even running out of ammunition on the front lines,” and called on Congress to end the “inaction” of the United States.
However, the Ukrainian government continues to wreak havoc on the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, as it did on Wednesday when it announced the destruction of yet another Moscow warship.
On the land front, the goal of recapturing the almost 20% of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russian forces still seems a long way off.
Syrskyi, long-time commander of Kiev’s military operations in the east, was promoted to army chief last week, with President Volodimir Zelensky demanding “changes” after the failure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in mid-2023.
On his first visit to the front line 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 critical points.
“We are taking all possible measures to minimize our losses,” he said.
Sunken ship
Since October, Russian forces have been carrying out massive attacks and shelling to conquer Avdiivka, a largely destroyed industrial city.
The position of the Ukrainian defenders has deteriorated since January 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 push back the powerful Russian fleet in 2023 with the help of missiles and drones, Kiev today announced 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.
The Ukrainian Military Intelligence Department (GUR) explained that it had used Magura V5 naval drones to destroy the ship off the town of Alupka on the Black Sea coast, causing “critical holes” that led to its sinking.
Zelensky praised the attack, which “strengthens security in the Black Sea and the motivation of our people”.
According to the Ukrainian military, since the start of the war two years ago, 24 ships and one submarine have been “disabled”, which would represent a third of the Russian ships in the Black Sea.
Russia rarely acknowledges its losses and on Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment on the Ukrainian allegations.
At the same time, the Russian army is continuing its attacks on Ukrainian towns close to the front line in the east.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a mother and her nine-year-old son and a 38-year-old pregnant woman were killed in shelling that hit a hospital in the eastern city of Selydove, according to Ukrainian authorities.
A few hours later, another Russian attack killed two women, aged 62 and 74, in the village of Mykolaivka, 80 kilometers northeast of Selydove, in Donetsk province, according to the regional governor.
bur-epe/ant/pc/mb/dd/rpr *** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***