Ukraine front situation acute: Zelenskiy

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the situation at the front remains “extremely acute,” particularly in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive.

Zelenskiy reported major battles for Vuhledar, to the southwest of Donetsk, and Bakhmut, to the northeast. 

Bakhmut has largely been pulverised by repeated Russian attacks.

“The occupiers are not just storming our positions, they are deliberately and methodically destroying the towns and villages around them, with artillery, air strikes, missiles,” Zelenskiy said in a Friday evening video address. 

“The Russian army has no shortage of lethal means and can only be stopped by force.”

In Bohoiavlenka village in Donetsk region, soldiers said fighting around the nearby town of Vuhledar had intensified, with Russian troops constantly trying to advance and capture it.

Vuhledar had come under intense shelling in the past 24 hours, with seven buildings and two schools damaged, Yevhen Nazarenko, spokesman for the Ukraine army’s 68th brigade, told Reuters.

“They constantly use artillery fire, aviation. There is no single quiet minute here,” he said.

“We kill them, they sustain big losses, but they don’t stop actions and keep sending new forces to capture our positions.”

The area around Bakhmut, with a pre-war population of 70,000, has been the site of some of the most brutal fighting of the 11-month-old war. 

The town has symbolic importance for both Russia and Ukraine although foreign military analysts say it has little strategic significance.

Ukrainian officials said fierce battles were underway a day after at least 11 people were killed in missile and drone strikes which were seen in Ukraine as a response to the promises by important allies to send it tanks.

After weeks of wrangling, Germany and the United States this week said they would send Ukraine dozens of modern tanks to help push back Russian forces, opening the way for other countries to follow suit.

Poland gave Ukraine a further boost on Friday by promising an additional 60 tanks on top of 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it had already pledged.

Both sides in the war are expected to launch northern hemisphere spring offensives although the US has advised Ukraine to wait until the latest weapons are in place and training has been provided – a process expected to take several months.

Russia accused US President Joe Biden of prolonging the war by arming Ukraine. 

Ukraine says the only way to end the war is for allies to give it the weapons to win it.

Millions of Ukrainians faced electricity shortages after Thursday’s missile and drone strikes, the latest to target energy facilities and deprive people of heat, light and water.

Russian air attacks hit five high-voltage substations in the central, southern and southwest regions on Thursday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. 

Ukraine will need an additional $US17 billion ($A24 billion) in financing this year for energy repairs, de-mining and to rebuild infrastructure, he added.