Ukraine says situation in east has 'deteriorated significantly'

The Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Sersky, said on Saturday that the situation on the Eastern Front had deteriorated in the face of the increasing Russian attack.

Sirsky, who took over as commander-in-chief in February after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his popular predecessor Valery Zalozny, said Russian forces had superior weapons and numbers.

“The situation on the Eastern Front has deteriorated significantly in recent days,” Sersky said.

He spoke of a “significant intensification of the enemy's attack after the presidential elections in Russia” last month, and added that decisions had been made to “strengthen the most problematic defense areas with electronic warfare and air defense.”

Ukraine said that the situation around the city of Chasiv Yar, located on the front line in the east of the country, is “difficult and tense,” as the area is under “continuous fire.”

Chasiv Yar is located 20 kilometers west of Bakhmut, which was leveled as a result of artillery shelling that continued for months before Moscow took control of it last May.

Russia recently made its first territorial gains since seizing Bakhmut, and is now trying to advance against Ukrainian units that are hampered by delays in the supply of vital Western military aid.

Sirsky said: “The enemy is actively attacking our positions in the Liman and Bakhmut sectors… and in the Pokrovsk sector, they are trying to break through our defense using dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers.”

“The issue of achieving technical superiority over the enemy in high-tech weapons has once again been raised. Only this will enable us to defeat a greater enemy,” he said.

Training batch

“The second serious problem is improving the quality of training of military personnel, especially infantry units, so that they can make maximum use of all the capabilities of Western military equipment and weapons,” Sersky added.

Ukraine's European allies are participating in a training process for their forces.

Future Ukrainian fighter pilots who are likely to fly US F-16s are receiving their initial training in southern France, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Friday.

Other countries, including the Netherlands, Denmark and Romania, are seeking to help Ukraine train pilots.

A military source said that some Ukrainians, after receiving initial training in Britain, are now undergoing “advanced training” in an undisclosed location to learn how to fly fighter planes.

The issue of Western training of Ukrainian forces comes as US officials on Friday released intelligence indicating that China is helping Russia carry out its largest military expansion since the Soviet era.

China is helping Russia with joint production of drones, space capabilities and exports of machine tools vital for ballistic missile production to revitalize Russia's defense industrial base “which has suffered major setbacks” since the invasion, a senior US official said on Friday. Ukraine.

Meanwhile, UN migration official Amy Pope urged more humanitarian support for Ukraine, saying its needs were “huge” with more than 14 million Ukrainians, or about 40% of the population, in need of assistance.