Ukrainian Commander: Eastern Front Has 'Deteriorated Significantly'

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Facts

  • After weeks of Russian gains in the eastern Donetsk region, Oleksandr Syrski, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, conceded that the frontline situation in the country's east has 'deteriorated significantly' in comments over the weekend.1
  • Syrskyi said that fighting had intensified after Russia's presidential election last month and that Russia has actively been attacking Ukrainian positions in the Lyman, Bakhmut, and Pokrovsk sectors of Donetsk in recent days. He further stated that the situation around Chasiv Yar — 12 miles (20 km) west of Bakhmut — was particularly 'difficult and tense.'[1
  • Later in the weekend, without specifying how he got the information, Syrski alleged that Russia planned to take control of Chasiv Yar by May 9 — the date when Russia marks the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. However, Syrskyi added, 'The enemy's plans are being hampered by the heroic defense of our brigades.'2
  • According to the latest analysis from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US military-affiliated think tank that tracks battlefield progress in the war, Russian forces continued to advance on multiple axes towards Chasiv Yar on Sunday.3
  • Meanwhile, according to a report in Ukrainian media on Sunday, an ultranationalist Ukrainian volunteer brigade known as Right Sector was being put under investigation and its forces were transferred from the defense of Chasiv Yar to other units after battlefield losses in the region.4
  • Sources who spoke to Ukrainska Pravda said that an audit of Right Sector troops revealed that they discriminated against what they described as 'Pixels' — the freshly conscripted troops that stood out as a result of their pixelated uniforms. They were the first to be sent to battle and often lost ground, the sources said.4

Sources: 1Dw.Com, 2The Kyiv Independent, 3Understandingwar and 4Ukrainska Pravda.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by PBS NewsHour. Delays in Western military aid to Ukraine will seriously hamper the country's ability to hold back Russia's advances. Three years into the war, Russia is deploying more advanced weaponry and is stepping up its firepower. It's more vital than ever that the US approves a new batch of military aid.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. Russian troops continue to advance in the Donetsk region, namely in the direction of Chasiv Yar. As was conceded in Ukrainian media, that's because experienced fighters know what fate awaits them and are sending the new troops out to die.

Predictions