Ukraine military fears more losses at battlefields

By Stefan J. Bos 

Ukrainian General Oleksandr Syrskyy said that Moscow had “significantly” ramped up its assaults since President Vladimir Putin extended his nearly quarter-century rule in what critics view as a preordained election. 

With anti-war candidates barred from the ballot and independent voices silenced in a Kremlin-backed media blockade, Moscow has made it clear it wants to end the war only on its terms. 

Invading Russian troops have reportedly been “actively attacking” Ukrainian positions in three areas of the eastern Donetsk region, near the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut, and Pokrovsk. 

Drier, warmer spring weather has made it easier for heavy vehicles to move across previously muddy terrain.

In addition, Russia has, in recent days, attacked crucial infrastructure, including destroying a significant power plant near the capital, Kyiv. The destroyed Trypillya power plant was the largest electricity provider for three regions, including Kyiv. 

Authorities warn that more civilians and troops die in part due to delays in US military aid. 

Maryan Zablotskyy, a member of the Ukrainian parliament, says his nation is running out of crucial military hardware. “It is vulnerable unless you have anti-air missiles. And unfortunately, we are desperately running out of them. So the Russian military technology is not that far from Iran and North Korea,” he said. 

“The U.S. Patriot missiles do shoot them down very effectively. But unfortunately, as maybe Israel very soon, we are also under attack from Iranian drones. So almost 3,000 Iranian drones were also fired at Ukrainian energy grids since the beginning of only 2024,” the legislator explained. 

He added that soldiers at the frontlines “very simply need ways and means to shoot back. Because the moral drops really very fast when you’re under fire and cannot respond.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended the strikes, saying Moscow had been "obliged to respond" to the strikes on Ukrainian energy sites following Kyiv's attacks on Russian targets.

There are mounting concerns that Ukraine may face more losses on the battlefield and even lose the war without more Western military support. 

Germany, Europe’s leading economy, agreed Saturday to send a Patriot air-defense system to Ukraine, but Berlin hasn't relented on its refusal to provide Kyiv with Taurus cruise missiles.

However, critics of the war, including Hungary, have urged Kyiv and Moscow to launch peace talks to end Europe’s bloodiest conflict since World War Two, which has so far killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people.