MOSCOW, January 28. /TASS/. The situation on the battlefield remains difficult for the Ukrainian army, the General Staff of the country’s armed forces stated.

"The situation on the front remains challenging," a message published on the General Staff’s Telegram channel said.

On January 26, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that active offensive operations had resulted in the Russian Armed Forces liberating the settlement of Velikaya Novosyolka in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

Ukrainian commanders of various ranks describe the strategic environment as tense. The Ukrainian armed forces are faced with a shortage of manpower, which they are trying to compensate for to no avail by boosting mobilization. Desertion has become a particular issue, which occasionally turns into a large-scale problem. Meanwhile, Kiev is trying to put the blame for the Ukrainian army’s failures on its western partners, accusing them of delays and the lack of arms supplies.