News Desk

Ukraine’s top military commander has announced plans to significantly escalate attacks on Russian targets, vowing to expand the “scale and depth” of strikes in a strategy aimed at undermining Moscow’s military capabilities and countering its territorial advances. The remarks by Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky, made public on June 22, reflect growing frustration in Kyiv over stalled diplomatic efforts and intensifying battlefield challenges.

“Of course, we will continue. We will increase the scale and depth,” Syrsky told journalists, including AFP, in a statement that signals a shift toward more proactive and aggressive military operations. He emphasized that Ukraine’s attacks would remain focused on military objectives, and dismissed any suggestion that the strikes were retaliatory or indiscriminate.

The commander’s comments come amid a lull in negotiations, with the last known direct talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials occurring nearly three weeks ago. No follow-up discussions have been scheduled, and diplomatic momentum appears to have stalled.

“We will not just sit in defence,” Syrsky said. “Because this brings nothing and eventually leads to the fact that we still retreat, lose people and territories.”

Russia continues to occupy approximately one-fifth of Ukraine, including territories in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, which it claims to have annexed since the full-scale invasion began in February 2022. In addition, Moscow maintains control over Crimea, which it seized in 2014.

In his wide-ranging remarks, Syrsky acknowledged that Russia maintains a technological edge in certain areas, particularly in drone warfare. He cited the development and use of fiber-optic tethered drones by Russian forces, which are highly resistant to electronic jamming.

“Here, unfortunately, they have an advantage in both the number and range of their use,” he admitted, underscoring the urgent need for Ukraine to enhance its own drone capabilities with international support.

Syrsky also made a striking claim that Ukraine continues to hold about 90 square kilometers (56 square miles) inside Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian forces had launched a cross-border incursion into the region in August 2024 in what Kyiv described as a preemptive measure to disrupt potential Russian offensives.

“These are our preemptive actions in response to a possible enemy offensive,” Syrsky said, although Moscow has repeatedly denied any Ukrainian presence in Kursk and claimed in April to have reasserted full control over the region.

The Ukrainian military leader’s comments highlight the fragile state of both the battlefield and diplomatic fronts. Kyiv accuses Moscow of deliberately undermining the peace process in order to prolong the war and seize more Ukrainian territory.

With hopes for a ceasefire fading and Russia consolidating gains in occupied areas, Ukraine’s leadership appears determined to shift toward a more assertive military stance. Whether this escalation will alter the dynamics of the conflict or provoke further retaliation from the Kremlin remains uncertain. However, the message from Kyiv is clear: Ukraine will not wait passively as the war drags into its third year.