FILE PHOTO: Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Sunday the situation was "difficult" around Russia's main attack, which is focused in eastern Ukraine, but that all the necessary decisions were being taken.
Syrskyi did not give the exact location of the main Russian offensive, but earlier both he and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russian forces were targeting the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.
"The situation is difficult in the direction of the enemy's main attack. But all the necessary decisions at all levels are being made without delay," Syrskyi said on the Telegram messaging app.
Syrskyi said last week he spent several days on the eastern front near Pokrovsk and described fighting there as "exceptionally tough".
Russia, which has captured swathes of eastern Ukraine since launching its full-scale invasion in February 2022, continues to inch forward there in heavy fighting.
The gains have continued since Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Russia's west Kursk region on Aug. 6, apparently aimed at diverting Russian resources and strengthening Kyiv's position in any future negotiations.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Editing by Toby Chopra and Mark Potter)
