Ukraine commander says challenges increase in war with Russia

10/11/2024 12:08

        Ukraine's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Saturday that Ukraine faced increasing difficulties in its fight against Moscow's invasion as Russian forces advance and North Korean troops prepare to join the Kremlin's campaign.
        
        Syrskyi, relating comments he made to a top U.S. general, said outnumbered Ukrainian forces faced Russian attacks in key sectors of the more than 2-1/2-year-old war with Russia.
        
        President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a nightly address that Ukraine's military command was focused on defending around the town of Kurakhove -- a target of Russia's advances along with Pokrovsk, a logistical hub to the north.
        
        He decried strikes on civilian targets and urged European countries to provide more air defence systems.
        
        Syrskyi, writing on Facebook, said he told General Christopher Cavoli, who heads the U.S. European Command: "The situation remains challenging and shows signs of escalation.
        
        Syrskyi said, "The enemy, leveraging its numerical advantage, is continuing offensive actions and is focusing its main efforts on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions."
        
        Russian forces, intent on capturing Ukraine's eastern Donbas province, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, have been regularly capturing new villages as they move towards Pokrovsk.