The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said in an interview published today that Russia has launched a new offensive in northeastern Ukraine, stressing that there is already a significant increase in attacks, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia is preparing an offensive in Kharkiv and Sumy regions.
"I can say that the president is absolutely right and this offensive has actually already begun", Syrsky said in an interview with the publication "Lyav bryag" (Livyi Bereg). "For several days, almost a week, we have seen an almost doubling of the number of enemy attacks in all main directions (on the front)", he stressed.
Russia is close to completely pushing Ukrainian forces out of their last control points in Russia's Kursk region, which they have held since August last year, when Kiev's troops launched a surprise invasion, Reuters notes.
On Monday, Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had been deployed to neighboring Russia's Belgorod region, saying they were there to protect Ukrainian border towns.
The war, which in its first year (2022) was marked by rapid Russian territorial gains followed by Ukrainian counterattacks, has reached a stalemate on the battlefield amid relatively weak progress by Moscow, carrying out ground attacks in waves, Reuters notes.