Armed Forces of Ukraine Russian born commander-in-chief says Moscow has initiated a powerful offensive as Western officials say Zelensky looks increasingly worn out and stressed
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.
Russian soldiers during an exercise in Saratov Region, Russia. © Aleksey Mayshev / Sputnik
“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 the 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.
Zelensky “looked worn and stressed, anxious about his troops’ battlefield setbacks as well as the US elections” when he met with American officials in Kiev last week, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Friday, noting that Ukrainian troops are having to deal with low morale, a lack of reinforcements, and an inability to outgun the Russian forces.
The paper cited an unnamed Ukrainian major stationed at the border near Russia’s Kursk Region as saying that the Ukrainians are “constantly losing previously occupied positions,” while Moscow’s forces have an advantage in men and artillery.
According to the NYT, US officials believe, however, the Ukrainians would have a chance to exploit “Russia’s weaknesses” if the aid from Washington “remains strong until next summer.”
Russian troops have been steadily gaining ground in recent months, having captured the heavily fortified mining town of Ugledar in the Donbass early last month. Moscow has also launched an offensive aimed at pushing Ukrainian army units from the Kursk Region, which was invaded in August.
Zelensky has appeared increasingly worried over the course of the conflict, admitting earlier this year that Kiev had effectively become “a hostage” to the highly unpredictable US election. He urged Kiev’s foreign backed in July to redouble their efforts and help to end the conflict “as soon as possible.”
The BBC reported earlier this week that soldiers and ordinary Ukrainians were closely watching the presidential campaign in America, where Republican candidate Donald Trump, his running mate J.D. Vance, and several prominent Republicans have proposed conditioning aid to Ukraine or canceling it altogether.
“We should never give money anymore without the hope of a payback, or without ‘strings’ attached. The United States of America should be ‘stupid’ no longer,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in February.
He has repeatedly described Zelensky as “the greatest salesman on Earth” and claimed that, if reelected, he would quickly resolve the conflict between Moscow and Kiev through diplomacy.
Source X/RT/NYT/AP