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Ukraine’s New Armed Forces Chief Warns Of ‘Extremely Difficult’ Situation On Front Line

Radio Free Europe 13 Feb 24

The new chief of Ukraine’s armed forces warned that the situation on the front line has become extremely difficult as Russia pours in additional troops and equipment after months trying to capture the eastern Ukrainian strongholds of Avdiyivka and Kupyansk.

Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on economic and military aid from its Western allies, has been facing a shortage of ammunition and military equipment on the battlefield and air-defense systems to protect its civilians and infrastructure pounded daily by Russian shelling and drone attacks.

As Russia’s unprovoked [?]invasion nears the two-year mark, depleted Ukrainian forces have been conserving dwindling ammunition as desperately needed U.S. military aid is being held back by Republican lawmakers in Washington.

“The operating environment is extremely complex and intense. Russian occupiers continue to step up their efforts and have a large advantage in personnel numbers,” Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy wrote on Facebook on February 14, a day after visiting the front line together with Defense Minister Rustem Umerov.

“On the Avdiyivka front, only during the last day, the units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 29 attacks by the Russian occupiers,” wrote Syrskiy, who was appointed to lead Ukraine’s military less than a week ago by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

After a largely failed counteroffensive last year, Ukrainian forces have been stretched on a front line of roughly 1,000 kilometers in the east.

Syrskiy said the Russians were employing aerial bombardment combined with mortar and heavy artillery fire to attack the positions of the Ukrainian military in addition to waves of infantry attacks that he called “flesh storms.”

Syrskiy’s assessment came as 31 NATO allies and 23 other allies of Ukraine met in Brussels on February 14 to discuss further military assistance for Kyiv.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opened the meeting of the U.S.-led Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG), also known as the Ramstein format, by saying the United States will “continue to dig deep” to provide military aid to Ukraine……………………………………….  https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-syrskiy-front-line/32819423.html

February 16, 2024 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | weapons and war