War in Ukraine, Russia is breaking through to the east. “Nightmare situation”, resistance at peak

The Russian army has claimed responsibility for the capture of a village near Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that its soldiers had “liberated” Pervomaiske, southwest of Avdiivka, which it captured in February. Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky admitted that “the situation on the Eastern Front has worsened significantly.” Syrsky, who took over as commander-in-chief in February after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his popular predecessor, Valery Zaluzhny, did not confirm the fall of the village of Pervomaiske, arguing instead that Kiev’s army repelled the attacks. The new loyalist of the Ukrainian president spoke of “a significant intensification of the enemy’s offensive after the presidential elections in Russia” last month. The commander in chief added that decisions are being made “to strengthen the most problematic defense areas with electronic warfare and air defense.” He also said the situation around the eastern town of Chasiv Yar was “difficult and tense” with the area under “constant fire”.

Chasiv Yar is 20 kilometers west of the town of Bakhmut, which was razed by months of artillery fire before being captured by Moscow last May. Russia is now securing new territorial gains and seeking to move forward against Ukrainian units hampered by delays in the provision of Western military aid. «The enemy is actively attacking our positions in the Lyman and Bakhmut sectors… In the Pokrovsk sector, they are trying to break through our defense using dozens of tanks and armored vehicles», highlighted Syrsky, who then added: «It has the question of obtaining technical superiority over the enemy with high-tech weapons has been raised again. Only this will allow us to defeat him.” “The second problem is to improve the quality of training of military personnel, especially infantry units, so that they can make the most of all the capabilities of Western military equipment and weapons,” the final reasoning.