On Tuesday, January 3, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi had the first telephone conversation of the new year with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

The Ukrainian general told his colleague about the situation at the front, Russian attacks on the civilian population and the needs of the Armed Forces.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces announced this on his Telegram page.

"He talked about the changes in the operational and strategic situation, primarily in the land and air spaces of Ukraine. Heavy battles are being fought

on the Svatove-Kreminna line,

as well as

in the direction of Lysychansk.

The most difficult situation remains in

the Soledar-Bakhmut-Mayorsk area.

There, the enemy is literally dead is trying to move forward, but units of the Defense Forces are holding back the enemy offensive at the cost of overwhelming force.

In the Donetsk direction,

we managed to hold positions around

Avdiyivka

and continue counteroffensive actions," Zaluzhny emphasized.

The Ukrainian general assured Milli that the Defense Forces are reliably holding the defensive lines

in the Zaporozhye region

and are making efforts to protect Kherson, primarily civilians and critical infrastructure facilities, from Russian shelling.

He also emphasized that the

situation on the border with Belarus is fully under control.

According to him, only since December 31, 2022, Russia has carried out 

14 strikes with cruise missiles

and used 

94 kamikaze drones of the "Shahed-136" type.

"I thanked General Milli for the foreign-made anti-aircraft missile systems provided with his active assistance. Today, they save the lives of Ukrainian civilians, first of all. We also

discussed the needs of the Defense Forces to continue the fight against the aggressor.

I highly appreciate General Milli's leadership in providing Ukraine with military assistance. Mutual trust and a common vision help to increase the ability of the Ukrainian army to defend the peaceful cities and villages of our country, which is a guarantee of security in all of Europe," Zaluzhny is confident.

We will remind, according to the data of the General Staff for January 3, the Russian military does not stop trying to reach the administrative border of the Donetsk region.

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