Today Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Gen Valeriy Zaluzhnyy had a telephone conversation with Gen Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
"I told him about changes in the operational and strategic situation, primarily on the land and in the air space of Ukraine. Fierce fighting is going on along the Svatove-Kreminna line, as well as in the direction of Lysychansk," Zaluzhnyy said on Facebook.
The most challenging situation remains in the Soledar-Bakhmut-Mayorsk area, he added.
"There, the enemy is virtually attempting to advance over their corpses, but the Defenсe Forces units constrain the enemy's offensive at the cost of supreme efforts. In the Donetsk direction, we managed to hold positions in the vicinity of Avdiyivka, and continue counteroffensive efforts," he said.
"We securely hold defensive lines in the Zaporizhzhya direction and put effort into protecting against the hostile shelling of Kherson, primarily civilians and the city's critical infrastructure facilities. The situation along the border with the republic of belarus is fully controlled," Zaluzhnyy said.
From 31 December to this morning, Russia launched 14 cruise missiles and 94 Shahed-136 kamikaze drones.
"I thanked General Milley for the foreign-manufactured anti-aircraft missile systems provided with his active assistance. Today, they are primarily saving the lives of Ukrainian civilians," he said. "We also discussed the Defence Forces needs in order to continue the fight against the aggressor. I highly appreciate General Milley's leadership in providing Ukraine with military aid. Mutual trust and shared vision assist in ramping up the capabilities of the Ukrainian military to defend our state's peaceful cities and villages, which guarantees security throughout Europe."