‘The enemy is amassing’: Ukrainian army officials give unvarnished account of the battlefield

Comments by Ukrainian military figures on Saturday provided an insight to Ukraine’s current position, with offensive Russian operations along much of the front line.

Ukrainian officials have warned that Russia is conducting offensive operations along much of the frontline, with Ukraine’s military trying to hold its positions as its ammunition begins to run low and United States funding remains stalled in Congress. Fighting is intense in the northeast along a stretch of territory where the regions of Kharkiv and Luhansk meet. Ukraine announced earlier this week it had withdrawn its forces from the Kharkiv village of Krokhmalne in order to take up more advantageous defensive positions on higher ground, while reports suggest Russian forces have continued to press in the area. The General Staff of Ukraine’s army said Ukrainian forces had faced down 13 attacks nearby Krokhmalne, on Tabaiivka to the northwest of the village and on Stelmakhivka to the south. “The enemy is focusing on a large number of artillery attacks, trying to advance,” a spokesperson for Land Forces Command told Ukrainian television about the situation near Krokhmalne. The frontlines, concentrated in eastern and southern Ukraine, have been mostly static for months, after Ukraine’s counteroffensive was last summer largely rebuffed by heavily fortified Russian defenses. But the recent flurry of Russian offensives come as Ukraine has warned it is facing critical shortages of ammunition, with the war nearing its two-year anniversary. Ukrainian forces also report facing increased pressure further southeast in the area around Bakhmut, which was the overwhelming focus of Russia’s winter offensive a year ago. Russia’s efforts have been concentrated in the southwest of the city, around the largely destroyed villages of Klishchiivka and Andriivka, according to Sergeant Oles Maliarevych of the 92nd Separate Brigade.