Russia has three-fold frontline advantage: Ukraine army chief

KIEV

Ukraine said Monday that Russia has a large advantage in manpower and resources along the front line in the east of the country where Moscow's army has been steadily advancing for months.

"The enemy has a threefold advantage in forces and resources, and in the main areas of concentration, it can prevail by four to six times," Oleksandr Syrsky said in a statement on social media summarizing battlefield developments over the previous month.

Russian forces advanced in eastern Ukraine throughout August, though at a slightly slower pace than in previous months, AFP analysis of data provided by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) showed.

"The enemy is using the tactic of 'creeping' advancement with small infantry groups, trying to infiltrate settlements, using the space between positions and avoiding direct combat," Syrsky said.

He said Ukrainian forces regained control over 58 square kilometers and several small settlements.

Russia now occupies around 20 percent of Ukraine and has said it will continue fighting if peace is not struck on its terms.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Sept. 7 to impose more sanctions on Russia, after the Kremlin unleashed its biggest-ever aerial barrage at Ukraine.

Russian missiles and drones rained down across Ukraine early on Sept. 7, killing four people and setting government offices in the capital Kiev ablaze.

Trump told reporters after the assault he was "not happy with the whole situation" and said he was prepared to move forward on new sanctions on Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was counting on a "strong" U.S. response.

Russia has intensified its onslaught against Ukraine since a meeting between Trump and President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 15 failed to make any breakthrough on a ceasefire.

After Sept. 7's attack on Kiev, flames could be seen rising from the roof of the sprawling government complex that houses Ukraine's cabinet of ministers in the heart of the city, the first time it has been hit during the three-and-a-half-year conflict.

Drone strikes also damaged several high-rise buildings in the Ukrainian capital, according to emergency services.

Russia denies targeting civilians in Ukraine.

It said it struck a plant and a logistics hub in Kiev, with the Russian Defense Ministry saying "no strikes were carried out on other targets within the boundaries of Kiev."

"It is important that there is a broad response from partners to this attack today," said Zelensky in his evening address, adding that Putin was "testing the world."

"We are counting on a strong response from America. That is what is needed."

Zelensky discussed the attack in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron and said France would help Ukraine strengthen its defense.