loading…
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo/Euractiv
KIEV – President Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the situation on the country’s eastern front was getting more difficult and Russia put more troops into battle.
The Kremlin continues to press for a significant victory on the battlefield after months of setbacks, with Russian forces trying to seal its hold on the town of Bakhmut and fighting for control of the main supply route nearest to Ukrainian troops.
Russian troops are also trying to take the coal mining town of Vuhledar, about 120 kilometers southwest of Bakhmut, also in the eastern region of Donetsk.
“I often have to say that the situation on the front is difficult, and it’s getting harder, and it’s happening again. The invaders are deploying more and more troops to destroy our defenses,” Zelensky said in his video speech.
“It is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Lyman and other directions,” he continued as quoted by Reuters, Sunday (5/2/2023).
Read: Following Germany’s Steps, Portugal Will Send Leopard 2 Tanks to Ukraine
Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Telegram that Russian attempts to break the defenses at Bakhmut and Lyman had failed.
Lyman, located just north of Bakhmut, was liberated by Ukrainian forces in October.
On Friday, Zelensky vowed that his troops would fight to hold on to Bakhmut “as long as we can”, but the situation there was getting dire for Ukrainian troops.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reported daily numerous skirmishes in the area and Moscow military bloggers have claimed a number of unverified Russian successes along the front.
