Head of Ukrainian army warns of significant deterioration of battlefield situation in the east

(Patria) - The head of the Ukrainian army warned on Saturday that the battlefield situation in the industrial east has "significantly deteriorated in recent days," as warmer weather has allowed Russian forces to launch a new offensive along several sections of the front line stretching over 1,000 km, AP reported.

On Telegram, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Moscow has "significantly" intensified its attacks since President Vladimir Putin extended his nearly quarter-century rule in predetermined elections last month, in which anti-war candidates were barred from the ballot and independent voices were silenced in a Kremlin-backed media blockade.

According to Syrskyi, Russian forces have "actively attacked" Ukrainian positions in three areas of the eastern Donetsk region, near the towns of Lyman, Bakhmut and Pokrovsk, and have begun launching tank assaults as drier, warmer spring weather has made it easier for heavy vehicles to move across previously muddy terrain.

"Despite significant losses, the enemy is intensifying its efforts using new units (equipped with) armored vehicles, thanks to which it periodically achieves tactical successes," Syrskyi said.

A spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry spoke on Saturday about the capture of a village that had been the site of fierce fighting for nearly eighteen months. Analysts from the Ukrainian non-governmental group Deep State, which monitors developments on the front line, reported the Russian takeover of Pervomaiske, about 45 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk, in the early hours of Thursday.

On Saturday, the group stated on Telegram that Moscow's forces had also captured Bohdanivka, another eastern village near the town of Bakhmut, where the bloodiest battle of the war raged for nine months until the town fell to Russia last May. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry soon denied that Bohdanivka had fallen and said that "intense fighting" was continuing there.