Russia – which has been on the offensive since autumn 2023 – on Thursday claimed the capture of a village in eastern Ukraine, not far from Vuhledar, at the junction of the eastern and southern fronts, which it seeks to secure.

"We will not go into much detail, but we are approaching a difficult period, mid-May, early June," Budanov warned when asked about the situation at the front in an interview with the Ukrainian service of the British broadcaster BBC.

"We believe that a rather difficult situation awaits us in the near future. But we must understand that it will not be catastrophic," said Kyrylo Budanov.

The Ukrainian army is going through a delicate period, facing a shortage of new recruits and ammunition due to significant delays in the delivery of Western aid, particularly from the United States, whose financial support package has only just been approved by the House of Representatives.

On the other side, Russian troops, much more numerous and better armed, continue to advance eastwards and claim to have captured small villages in the Donbas region.

In February, Moscow captured Avdiivka, a fortress city, and is now targeting the strategic city of Chasiv Yar.

On Thursday, the Russian Defence Ministry said it had captured Novomykhailivka, about 30 kilometres from Donetsk.

Kyiv now fears an even more powerful Russian summer offensive.

In late March, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, admitted this scenario, which could involve a group of 100,000 Russian soldiers.

The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, admitted in mid-April that the situation on the eastern front had "deteriorated significantly", reporting a "significant intensification" of the Russian offensive since March.

The Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023 came up against powerful Russian defence lines that exhausted the resources of the Ukrainian army, without allowing the liberation of the regions occupied by Russia.

Kyiv now hopes that US aid – which is awaiting approval in the Senate and the signature of President Joe Biden – can reach the front very quickly.

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