The Ukrainian President acknowledges the difficulty of the battles with the Russian forces

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that the situation on the front lines in the east of the country was getting more difficult and that Russia was sending more troops to the battlefield.

Russian forces are making slow progress in the Donbas region, encircling Bakhmut, north of Donetsk, and fighting for control of a nearby road that serves as a major supply route for Ukrainian forces.

The Russian forces are also trying to take control of Volydar, southwest of Donetsk.

“I have often had to say that the situation on the front is difficult, and it’s getting more difficult, and the time has come to say that again… The invader is sending more of his forces to smash our defenses,” Zelensky said in a video speech.

“The situation is very difficult now in Bakhmut, Fulidar, Liman and other directions,” he added.

The Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hana Malyar wrote on his Telegram channel that Russian efforts to break the defenses in Bakhmut and Liman had failed.

Last October, Ukrainian forces liberated the city of Liman, just north of Bakhmut.