Russia outgunning Ukraine 6-to-1: Kyiv commander-in-chief
Russia is outgunning Ukrainian forces sixfold on the front lines, causing losses of troops and positions, Ukraine's recently appointed commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in a rare interview published on Friday.
«A few days ago, the enemy's advantage in terms of ammunition fired was about six to one,» Syrsky told the Ukrinform news agency.
«The defence forces are now performing tasks along the entire vast front line, with little or no weapons and ammunition,» he warned, saying the situation was «tense» in some areas.
Syrsky took over as commander-in-chief in February after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky fired his popular predecessor, Valery Zaluzhny.
Syrsky added that in recent months and weeks, Russia had «significantly increased aviation activity, using KABs — guided aerial bombs that destroy our positions».
Ukraine is pushing for the United States Congress to pass a long-stalled $60-billion military aid package for Kyiv.
«We hope to receive from our partners more air defence systems and, most importantly, missiles,» Syrsky said.
«We would be even more grateful if this aid came faster and in sufficient quantities.»
Ukraine has lost territory it would «undoubtedly have retained» with «a sufficient number of air defence systems and artillery shells», the commander-in-chief said.
«We have to admit that we were not able to achieve greater success during the Kharkiv offensive because we lacked resources,» Syrsky said.
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