Eastern front situation deteriorates as Russia intensifies offensive, says Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief

The situation on the eastern front has notably deteriorated recently amid a significant intensification of the Russian offensive after the sham presidential election in March, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote in his April 13 Telegram post.

The enemy has been actively attacking the positions of the Ukrainian troops and trying to break through the defensive lines in the Lyman, Bakhmut, and Pokrovsk sectors, using assault groups supported by armored personnel carriers and dozens of tanks.

Syrskyi attributes the escalation to the warm, dry weather, which allowed tanks to access open areas. Despite suffering losses, the enemy is reinforcing its troops with new armored units and achieving occasional tactical victories.

In order to stabilize the situation, increase effectiveness, and inflict maximum losses on the enemy, Syrskyi plans to strengthen the most problematic defense areas with electronic warfare and air defense, replenish stocks of all types of drones and anti-tank missiles, and deploy additional reserves.

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Only the urgent achievement of technical superiority “will give us the opportunity to defeat a bigger enemy and create conditions for seizing the strategic initiative,” he said, emphasizing the need to improve the training of military personnel, especially infantry units, and the effective use of Western weapons.

“This task is primarily assigned to the Land Forces Command, which has returned from the combat zone in full force.”

Russia’s new summer offensive

Russia’s troops are likely to continue offensive operations until spring 2024 and prepare for a summer offensive, as noted by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on March 23.

Russia is forming groups of over 100,000 personnel, and a new enemy offensive in the summer is not ruled out, according to Commander of the Ground Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, on March 22.

Russia may start a new major offensive from the beginning of summer, and Ukraine’s ability to withstand it this time appears “much less certain,” according to The Economist on March 28.

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