MOSCOW, February 13. /TASS/. Ukraine’s army has dropped attempts to stage offensives on the line of combat engagement with Russia and switched to a defensive posture, Ukraine’s new Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky said.
"The situation [on the frontline] can now be described as difficult. <…> We have switched from offensive actions to a defensive operation," he said in an interview with Germany’s ZDF television channel, which was recorded several days before his appointment and posted on YouTube.
According to Syrsky, in the course of defensive actions, Ukrainian troops will use fortified structures, drones and electronic warfare means to retain their positions.
He also said that future operations will depend, among other things, on the support Kiev gets from its Western allies, noting that today it is not enough. "We are lacking support, munitions and combat vehicles," he said. "Of course, we are short of weapons. Even those weapons that are being used have a physical life span. A weapon can only fire a certain number of rounds before being replaced."
Last week, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky dismissed Valery Zaluzhny as the country’s commander-in-chief and appointed Syrsky, who had been commander of the Ukrainian land troops, to this post.