Ukraine warns that Russia could break through defences by summer
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The news: Ukrainian officials are concerned that advances by Russia in the coming months could break through Ukraine’s defences as early as the European summer.
The numbers: Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy disclosed that in the two years since Russia’s invasion, 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed. He did not disclose the number of wounded.
The context: According to unnamed sources cited by Bloomberg, internal assessments of the battlefield situation are becoming increasingly negative as Ukrainian forces struggle with a lack of ammunition.
Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said via the messaging app Telegram that shortcomings in decision making by certain Ukrainian commanders around their "situational awareness and assessment of the enemy," added to the problems facing Ukraine’s Avdiivka defences which were captured by Russia in February. This is contributing to concerns that defences around Kyiv may not be able to hold.
Zelenskiy recently urged the US to push through almost USD60 billion ($92.1 billion) of funding which has been held up by Republican opposition over the past few months.
