The Ukrainian army: Russian forces are superior by number in eastern Ukraine and the fighting has intensified in this region

The Ukrainian army announced that the Russian forces, which are numerically superior in Donetsk, have intensified the fighting in this region in eastern Ukraine.

Hours after Berlin and Washington announced their agreement to send advanced heavy tanks to Kyiv, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Gana Malyar said via the Telegram that “battles are raging” in the vicinity of Bakhmut, which Russian forces have been trying to control for months, as well as in the vicinity of Voglidar, the city in the south of the country. West of Donetsk.

This is the first time that the town of Voglidar, located in the southwestern part of the front line in the Donetsk region, is explicitly mentioned as an area of ​​intensive fighting.

“Now in Donbas, against their numerical and military superiority, our preference lies in the professionalism of the military leadership and the courage of the soldiers,” Malyar said on Wednesday evening.

For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on his Western allies on Wednesday to provide his country with long-range missiles and combat aircraft, after Washington and Berlin agreed, after a long wait, to send American and German heavy tanks to Kyiv.

“We should also allow long-range missiles to be sent to Ukraine, this is important… We should also expand our cooperation in the field of artillery and allow the dispatch of combat aircraft”.

The Ukrainian president, who celebrated his 45th birthday on Wednesday, said that he had repeated this request to NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a phone call that took place between them.

Zelensky also thanked his US counterpart, Joe Biden, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the decision they issued on Wednesday, in which they announced their agreement to send Western tanks to Ukraine, in a precedent of its kind since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

“I thank all our allies for their willingness to give us indispensable modern tanks,” Zelensky said.

However, Zelensky stressed that the key to defeating the Russian forces lies in the speed and quantity with which his country will obtain these heavy tanks.

“The key now is speed and quantity… The speed of training our soldiers, the speed of delivery of tanks… and the amount of support”, Zelensky said.