Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky revealed on Saturday that "The situation on the eastern front has deteriorated significantly in recent days", noting that Russia is in possession of superior weapons.

The situation around the eastern front city of Chasiv Yar is "difficult and tense" as it is under "constant fire"; the city is located 20 kilometers west of Bakhmut.

"The enemy is actively attacking our positions in the Lyman and Bakhmut sectors with assault groups supported by armored vehicles. In the Pokrovsk sector, they are trying to break through our defence using dozens of tanks and armored personnel carriers," Syrsky stressed, noting that Russia is "stepping up its efforts by deploying new armored units, which periodically achieves tactical success.

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He expressed that garnering "technical superiority over the enemy in high-tech weapons has again arisen. Only this will enable us to defeat a larger enemy and create conditions for seizing the strategic initiative."

According to the official, "The second serious problem is to improve the quality of training of military personnel, especially infantry units, so that they can make the most of all the capabilities of military equipment and Western weapons".

Desperate times, dire measures

Last month, he revealed "a significant intensification of the enemy's offensive after the presidential elections in Russia," and said current decisions were meant "to strengthen the most problematic defense areas with electronic warfare and air defense".

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the appointment of Syrskyi as the new commander-in-chief of the armed forces after firing the country's leading commander, Valery Zaluzhny, in February.

This comes after Zelensky warned earlier this month that Ukraine might exhaust its supply of air defense missiles should Russia continue its relentless long-range bombing campaign.

The Ukrainian leader's most dire warning yet regarding the worsening condition of his country's air defenses follows weeks of Russian targets on energy infrastructure, urban areas, and towns using a wide array of missiles and drones.

“If they keep hitting [Ukraine] every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it,” Zelensky said on Ukrainian television. He said that Ukraine had enough air defense stockpiles to cope for the moment, adding that it was already having to make difficult choices about what to protect.