The situation for Ukraine on its frontline is likely to steadily deteriorate in coming weeks, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief said in an interview published Monday.
His assessment comes as outgunned and outmanned Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russian troops who have grained ground in recent months and are expected to soon step up their offensive.
“In our opinion, a rather difficult situation awaits us in the near future,” Kyrylo Budanov told the BBC’s Ukrainian service.
“But it is not catastrophic, and we need to understand that. Armageddon will not happen, as many people are now saying,” he said.
“But there will be problems starting from mid-May. I am talking about the front in particular… It will be a difficult period in mid-May, early June,” Budanov said.
Russia said over the weekend that its forces had gained territory near the eastern town of Chasiv Yar.
If the town situated on strategic high ground falls, Kyiv fears it will open the road for Russia to other important Donbas towns.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russian forces want to capture the town by May 9, when the Kremlin marks the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Kyiv has for months struggled with a growing ammunition crisis, but that is expected to improve in the coming weeks, with the US on Saturday finally approving a $61 billion package of military aid to help battle Moscow.
