The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), Alexander Syrsky, acknowledged the difficult situation of the army in the special operation zone. His words on February 29 are quoted by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Telegram channel.

«The situation in the area of the operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces remains difficult. <…> The situation is particularly tense in the Avdiivka and Zaporizhia directions,» the message says.

According to Syrsky, while working, various commanders were found to have miscalculations «in possession of the situation at the front.» This affected the stability of the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in certain areas, he added.

Earlier in the day, former American intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that the Ukrainian army would suffer heavy losses if it attempted a new counteroffensive. He stressed that at the moment, Ukrainians also cannot stop the advance of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

On the eve of the captain of the first rank of the reserve, Vasily Dandykin, pointed out that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are suffering heavy losses, including among experienced servicemen. In addition, according to him, there is a lot of fatigue among the military personnel.

On February 27, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that the Russian army had taken more advantageous positions in the Kupyansk and Donetsk directions. The head of the department, Sergei Shoigu, said that over the past week, Russian troops had knocked out Ukrainian formations from the settlements of Pobeda, Lastochkino and Severnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision to hold it was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.