Ukraine’s ground commander said that Kyiv is working to stabilize its positions along the front lines against Russia to launch a counteroffensive later in the year.
Speaking on national television Wednesday, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who was named head of Ukraine’s Ground Forces on February 11, said that the situation on the battlefield remains difficult but that Ukraine is in control. After months of a disappointing counteroffensive launched in the summer, Kyiv’s momentum has largely come to a halt on the front lines, with Moscow appearing to hold the momentum since capturing Avdiivka in February.
Pavliuk said that Ukraine’s task at the moment is to “stabilize the contact line,” “kill as many [Russian troops] as possible,” and “regroup” so Ukrainian soldiers in need of “replenishment and recovery” can be moved to training grounds. The commander added that the ultimate goal is to “establish an attack group and conduct counteroffensive operations this year.”
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“We are succeeding, and the situation is stabilizing,” Pavliuk said, according to a report from Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainska Pravda.
Newsweek reached out to Russia’s Defense Ministry via email for comment on Wednesday.
According to Pavliuk, fighting against Russia is concentrated in several spots along the front lines where Moscow has focused its troops, including near the cities of Avdiivka Chasiv Yar and Terny, all of which fall along the eastern front.
“There is very fierce fighting there every day, but our guys are holding on,” Pavliuk said. “They are holding on quite confidently—the enemy’s losses are huge. I think we will stabilize the situation soon and will do everything possible to prepare the troops to move towards more active operations and seize the initiative.”
Both sides have suffered major equipment and personnel loses in the over two-year war, although Russia reportedly lost a record number of troops in February, with the average number of Moscow’s daily casualties reaching a new high of 983 per day last month, according to the UK Defense Ministry.
While Ukraine’s successes have slowed on the battlefield, Kyiv has wreaked havoc on Moscow’s naval fleet in the Black Sea. Ukraine’s military agency said on Tuesday that its drones took down one of Russia’s patrol ships, the Sergei Kotov, in an overnight attack near the Kerch Bridge in Crimea. Moscow has not publicly addressed such claims, but British military intelligence said a day later that the Kremlin’s Black Sea Fleet commander has likely been dismissed due to its high number of losses in recent weeks.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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