Ukrainian air defense while confronting Russian marches in the Chernihiv region in the north of the country (Reuters)

Ukraine announced - on Saturday - that it had been subjected to new Russian attacks, while President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that his forces would be forced to retreat unless they obtained the weapons that Washington promised to provide.

The Ukrainian Air Force said today in a statement that last night, Russia fired 4 missiles at the east of the country and 12 “Shahed” drones (Iranian-made) across the country.

The statement added that 9 Russian drones were shot down in 4 regions.

Last week, Russia carried out air strikes on energy and water facilities in the center and west of the country, destroying a number of them. Ukrainian officials described these attacks as the most intense since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine in late February 2022.

In other field developments, one person was killed and two others were injured yesterday after a Ukrainian vehicle crashed into a residential building in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine.

District Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that the accident also caused an explosion inside the residential building, causing material damage to a number of apartments.

Zelensky (right) during his visit last Wednesday to the Sumy region in the north of the country (Reuters)

Steps back

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if his country does not receive the military aid promised by the United States and is hampered by disagreements in Congress, its forces will have to retreat “in small steps.”

Zelensky added in an interview published by the American newspaper The Washington Post yesterday, "If American support does not exist, this means that we do not have air defenses, Patriot missiles, electronic warfare jamming devices, or 155-millimeter artillery rounds."

He continued, "This means that we will retreat, we will retreat, one step after another, in small steps." He continued, "We are trying to find some way not to retreat."

Last Thursday, Zelensky appealed to US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson to approve a $60 billion military aid program that has been stuck in Congress since last year.

Few weapons

For his part, Ukrainian Army Commander Oleksandr Sirsky revealed that his soldiers are fighting on the front “with few or no weapons and ammunition,” and called on the West again to arm his country at a faster pace in exchange for the Russian army intensifying its air operations.

Sersky said during an interview with the Ukrainian News Agency broadcast on Friday, “The defense forces accomplish missions along the front line with little or no weapons and ammunition.”

The Ukrainian military commander acknowledged the worsening situation in some locations on the front for the Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian forces were recently forced to retreat in some locations, as they withdrew in particular from the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, east of the country.

Last summer, the Ukrainian army launched a counterattack in provinces in the east and south, but it faltered and made only limited progress.

Source: Al Jazeera + agencies