Ukraine facing ‘powerful’ Russian offensive – top general
Kiev’s military is facing “one of the most powerful” Russian offensives since 2022, General Aleksandr Syrsky, the top commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, has said.
Syrsky made the remark on Saturday after a meeting with a military delegation from the Сzech Republic led by Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Karel Rehka.
The Ukrainian commander praised Prague as Kiev’s “loyal ally” and shared his concerns about the deteriorating situation on the battlefield.
“Currently, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding back one of the most powerful Russian offensives since the start of the full-fledged invasion” of 2022, Syrsky wrote on Telegram. He stressed that Ukrainian units are in “constant demand for the replenishment of its resources.”
Officials in Kiev have complained for a long time that delays in Western arms shipments, as well as restrictions on the use of certain long-range weapons for strikes deep inside Russia, were contributing to recent losses in Donbass and elsewhere.
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in early August has failed to meaningfully slow down the advances of Russian troops in other areas. Russian soldiers have been steadily gaining ground in recent months, capturing the heavily fortified mining town of Ugledar in October. Moscow has also launched an offensive aimed at pushing Ukrainian forces out of the Kursk Region.
Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky said in April that the country had effectively become a “hostage” of political wrangling in the US, as presidential candidate Donald Trump and several prominent Republicans have criticized the scale of military aid to Kiev.
