The situation at the front is still very difficult, but according to Oleksandr Syrskyj, the Russian forces are so far being held in check. Ukraine’s army chief, who took office in February and is the second-in-command to the president, lays out the text of how the war is going in a long interview with the country’s state news agency Ukrinform.
– The Russian occupiers continue to expand their efforts and have a numerical advantage in manpower. According to tradition, they do not count their losses and continue to use a tactic of massive attacks, says Syrskyj.
New major nocturnal seizures
In recent weeks, Russia has attacked Ukraine on a broad front at night, with large numbers of robots and attack drones being fired at cities and towns across the country. Heavy shelling takes place along the fiercely contested but largely immobile front line.
– A few days ago, the enemy had an advantage in ammunition where they had about six times as much, says Oleksandr Syrskyj, which is roughly in line with what war analysts have assessed.
In several frontline sections, Ukrainian soldiers are fighting with “few or no weapons or any ammunition,” according to the army chief. He stresses that Ukraine’s military must get more support quickly, at a time when President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is trying to convince US congressional politicians to approve a new aid package.
Warns of new attempts
Oleksandr Syrskyi replaced the long-lauded Valery Zaluznyi as army chief in February, after reports of a growing rift between Zaluznyi and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi. The former army chief had spoken in interviews about a “stalemate” in the war, which was somewhat different from the message the president was trying to convey.
As a general, Syrskyi led Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region in the northeast, where the occupying forces were completely driven back. As army chief, he now warns that new Russian attempts to attack Kharkiv – which analysts have warned – are doomed to be “fatal” failures.