Russian army chief says armored assaults ramp up pressure on Ukraine

Ukraine's army chief said on Saturday the situation on the eastern front had deteriorated in recent days with Russia intensifying its armored assaults and battles raging for control of a village west of the devastated city of Bakhmut.

The statement by Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi more than two years since Russia's invasion evoked the increasingly grim mood in Kyiv as vital US military aid that Kyiv expected to receive months ago remains stuck in Congress.

Syrskyi said he traveled to the embattled area to stabilize the front as Russian assault groups using tanks and armored personnel carriers took advantage of a period of dry, warm weather that was making it easier for them to maneuver.

"The situation on the eastern front in recent days has grown considerably more tense. This is linked primarily to the significant activation of offensive action by the enemy after the presidential elections in Russia," he wrote on the Telegram app.

Moscow's forces, Syrskyi said, were taking significant losses during their attacks in the east, but were also sometimes making tactical gains.

Social media channels reported the fall of Ukraine's eastern village of Bohdanivka to the west of Bakhmut, prompting Kyiv's defense ministry to deny them on Saturday while acknowledging fierce fighting in the area.

"Enemy assault groups reached outside the outskirts of the place at night. Bohdanivka is now under the control of the defense forces," it said.

The 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.

Syrskyi said Russian armored assault groups were attacking Kyiv's positions on the fronts of Lyman and Bakhmut while using dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers to try to break through lines on Pokrovsk front.

The Ukrainian military chief said only a technological advantage over Russia in sophisticated weapons would allow Kyiv "to seize the strategic initiative" from a better-equipped and larger foe.

He called for better training for soldiers and in particular infantry, a clear reference to Ukraine's manpower challenges.

Reuters