News - World: The commander of Ukrainian ground forces has been at pains to admit that fighting along the northern portion of Ukraine's eastern front has "significantly worsened" for Kiev forces in recent days.

Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, who was visiting the Kiev forces along the Kupiansk-Lyman axis, said the Ukrainian forces are under attack around the village of Makiivka and in the city of Kupiansk, the Ukrainian Army's press service reported on Saturday.

"Heavy fighting is ongoing there. The main objective of the enemy is the defeat of a grouping of our troops, the encirclement of Kupiansk and to reach the Oskil River," he said, stressing that "the situation on the Kupiansk and Lyman axes has worsened significantly."

The local media also reported that Russian troops had intensified airstrikes in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction.

Russia is "preparing once again to use winter as a weapon of war," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said recently, expecting an escalation of Russia's airstrikes on energy infrastructure.

"We need to prevent that, with more advanced and increased capabilities for air defense, we can make a big difference," he said.

Over the past year, the US-led NATO countries have supplied numerous shipments of advanced weapons, munitions, and military equipment to Kiev.

However, Russia has warned the US and its NATO allies that flooding Kiev with deadly weapons would only add to the losses and prolong the conflict.

Russia launched its special operation in Ukraine in February 2022, aiming to stop NATO's encroachment and defend the people in the pro-Moscow regions of Donbas against persecution by Kiev.

Source: Press TV