The Russian cup town of Avdiivka is now in ruins.
The logistics center – or what was left of it – was shown off by uniformed Russian officials after months of intense fighting on the front line.
She's there The final conquest in the invasion of Ukraine The latest setback for their neighbor, which is under severe pressure.
This was with reports of further Russian advances into the villages around Avdiivka Volodymyr Zelensky He held a day-long conference with his ministers and generals in an elegant Kiev hotel.
The rally may have been intended as a show of confidence — or reassurance — but his speech began with something that sounded like a confession — the first time he spoke about the number of Ukrainian soldiers who have died since the start of the large-scale offensive. Invade.
Members of the Russian army at a site called Avdiivka. Photo: Reuters
“I'm not sure if I have the right. It's a very dangerous moment. Let's start from the beginning. Recently, there were voices in an extreme part of some American political circles that were not on our side. They said: 'How do you want more victims?' Ukraine has lost 300,000 people… “This is all nonsense, all this is nonsense. Every person who is lost is a big loss for us, and it is a very big loss for us – 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers died in this war.”
Critics will say the number is too low, with Western officials saying the total is closer to 70,000, though the president felt the need to give a figure.
There was another attempt at candor when I asked the Ukrainian leader whether he would be willing to cede territory to the Russians as the country tries to rearm its depleted army.
President Zelensky responded by pointing to the shortage of artillery shells his forces now face — a ratio he estimated at one Ukrainian shell for every 12 Russian munitions fired.
“When we are from 1 to 1.5 [shells] Or from 1 to 3 [shells] Then we can repel the Russians. Until we reach these numbers, we will either maintain our positions – or lose them – 100 metres, 50 metres. Unfortunately, this is it.”
The prospect of Ukrainian forces losing ground to the Russians seemed very real to our team as we traveled to the city of Kubyansk in the northeastern part of the front.
The soldiers told us that they are under intense pressure due to constant attacks by Russian forces. An anti-tank commander said he only had enough grenades to fire for about 15 minutes.
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Head of Ukrainian military intelligence Kirilo Budanov
This was something we were able to raise with the country's powerful military intelligence chief, General Kirilo Budanov, who also attended the conference.
“It was a really tough period up front [for Ukraine]What message are you trying to send now?” I asked as we spoke outside the main hall.
He responded with clear frustration: “Listen, do not exaggerate the situation. This is what I want to say. The situation is not much different from yesterday, or the day before, or a month ago.”
“But your soldiers are under pressure, we went to Kubyansk,” I replied, before the general interrupted me.
“There are no problems in the Kubyansk direction. There are problems in the Avdiivka direction,” he said.
“What do you want from the West? What do you need?”
“We need weapons, and the sooner the better.”
The Ukrainians used this conference to promote a national story of resilience and heroic struggle – but it was General Budanov who seemed to get to the heart of the matter.
Survival will not be achieved without urgent Western assistance.
