The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, talked with the Chairman of the Joint Committee of the Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Millie.
He wrote about this on his Telegram channel.
"I consider this man, whom I deeply respect, to be my mentor; I said so and thanked him for it," Zaluzhny said.
He said he had informed General Millie about the current operational situation. Zaluzhny stressed that the enemy concentrated its primary efforts in the northern part of the Luhansk region. The russians use artillery en masse and, unfortunately, have a tenfold fire advantage.
"Nevertheless, we continue to hold positions. Every meter of Ukrainian land there is covered in blood, not only ours but also the occupier's," said the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief.
Zaluzhny also stressed that the situation is dire, particularly in the city of Severodonetsk. Up to seven battalion tactical groups were transferred there by the enemy. Despite heavy fire, the defenders of Ukraine managed to stop the enemy.
"Having failed in the Luhansk direction, the Russian occupation forces have resumed shelling of residential areas of Kharkiv, which requires us to take adequate action. The russian armed forces continue to fire artillery and mortars at units of our defense forces in the Chernihiv and Sumy regions. We have switched to counter-offensive actions, "said the Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief.
He also noted that as of today, the width of the front is 2,450 km, and active combat is underway on 1,105 km.
Zaluzhny reiterated to General Millie his request to help Ukraine get more 155 mm artillery systems as soon as possible.
"I also shared with my counterpart the strategic goals of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. Understanding the strategy of our armed struggle and operations will help ensure transparency with partners and establish a clear and coherent framework for the requested international technical assistance in terms of timelines and quantity. We exchanged ideas about the transfer procedures and the use of already provided weapons, drew analogies with the World War II Lend-Lease and discussed scenarios for further development of the situation," Zaluzhny added.
As reported earlier, the worst situation is in the Luhansk region, where the enemy has a decisive advantage in artillery. The fastest transition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the NATO-style armament will save the lives of Ukrainians and our territories.
Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov believes Ukraine is ready to transfer its weapons to NATO standards within a month.