The hot front line. Ukrainian soldiers withdraw from Russians in three Donetsk towns, says Kiev army chief

The head of the Ukrainian army, Oleksandr Sîrski, said that the situation on the front line had worsened in the context of multiple Russian attacks. He stated that Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from some positions in the eastern Donetsk region, the BBC writes.

According to Sîrski, the Ukrainian army withdrew to the west from the towns of Berdichi, Semenivka and Novomykhailivka in the Donetsk region, writes the Kyiv Independent.

Russia is trying to take advantage of its military and artillery superiority before Ukrainian forces receive much-needed arms support. Last week, the US approved a $61bn (£49bn) military aid package for Ukraine. But the new US weapons have yet to reach the front lines, where Ukrainian troops face months of fighting without ammunition, troops or air defenses.

“The situation on the front has worsened,” General Sîrski said in a post on the Telegram messaging service on Sunday.

He confirmed that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from some positions in an area of ​​Donetsk that had been part of a defensive line established after Russia captured Avdiivka in February. Much of the fighting took place around Chasiv Yar, a Kiev-held stronghold that Russia tried to reach after capturing Avdiivka. Moscow has secured “tactical successes in some areas,” he said. The general added that in those areas, units that had suffered losses had been supplemented with new Ukrainian brigades in an effort to “restore combat capability”.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported on Sunday that its troops had captured the village of Novobakhmutivka, about 10 km north of Avdiivka.

General Sîrski became commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces in February after rumors of differences between his predecessor, Valerii Zalujnyi, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

In early April, General Sîrski warned that the situation on the eastern front had “significantly worsened”.

The commander of Ukraine’s National Guard, Oleksandr Pivnenko, said this week that he expects an attempt by Russian forces to advance on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, which is near the border with Russia.

US President Joe Biden this week signed a $95bn (£76bn) aid package for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan. The Senate passed a similar aid package in February, but a group of conservatives blocked it. On Friday, the Pentagon said it would “expedite” sending Patriot air defense missiles and artillery ammunition to Ukraine as part of its new $6 billion military aid package, which comes from $61 billion in aid approved by Congress US. From February 2022 to January 2024, the US gave Ukraine more than $40 billion in military aid, according to the German research organization the Kiel Institute.

ISW: Russia unlikely to make significant near-term gains near Avdiivka despite Ukrainian withdrawal

Russian forces are unlikely to make “operationally significant inroads” west of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, despite the limited withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the three localities, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessed on 28 April , writes Kyiv Independent.

Despite the Ukrainian withdrawals, the ISW noted that without additional Russian troops to counter Ukraine’s anticipated rotations, Russia’s ability to make further rapid tactical advances in the area would likely be limited.

ISW currently notes that Ukrainian withdrawals from Berdichi, Semenivka and Novomykhailivka “did not facilitate rapid Russian tactical gains”.

Publisher: GM

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