Russians make minor advances, Ukrainian forces hold active defence – Ukraine's commander-in-chief

Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, has said that the situation on the front remains difficult, the defence forces are holding active defensive lines and in places are conducting counteroffensives, while Russian forces have made minor gains at the cost of heavy losses.

Source: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook

Quote: "Ukraine's defence forces continue to hold back Russian occupiers on all fronts, inflicting effective fire damage on them, killing personnel and destroying equipment. Although the situation in combat areas remains difficult, the enemy does not fully hold the strategic initiative. At the cost of enormous losses the enemy has made minor advances on some sections of the front."

Details: According to the commander-in-chief, in September alone the Russians lost nearly 29,000 servicemembers, 70 tanks, 65 armoured fighting vehicles, more than 1,050 artillery systems, six multiple-launch rocket systems and other equipment.

"Since the start of the year, 2,060 Russian servicemen have been taken prisoner. The Kremlin's plans to seize key areas and settlements have not been implemented and are being constantly revised and postponed," Syrskyi said, adding that the Ukrainian Armed Forces halted the Russians' spring-summer offensive and continue to frustrate further Russian plans.

He said the defence forces are taking "effective active defence measures", conducting counteroffensive operations on some fronts and restoring lost positions.

"In particular, Ukrainian troops continue to push Russian invaders out of parts of Sumy Oblast. Active operations are ongoing in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk Oblast. We have achieved certain successes in restoring control over territory in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. There are other sectors of the front where the enemy has no gains," Syrskyi said.

He added that deep strikes on Russian territory are being carried out more effectively than at any other time since the beginning of the full-scale war.

"Under the Deep Strike campaign, military targets, logistics and the aggressor country's energy facilities are being destroyed. The impact of this work is becoming increasingly more noticeable for the Russian military and economy. Since the start of the year, successful strikes have been made on 45 fuel-energy and military-industrial facilities in Russia. As a result, Russia's overall production of petroleum products has fallen by almost 25%. The country loses more than US$46 million a day from reduced exports of oil products," the commander-in-chief said.

He stressed that strikes on the Russian rear resources significantly impede its ability to conduct active combat operations.

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