Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny told the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley about changes in the operational and strategic situation, primarily in the ground and airspaces of Ukraine.

"Heavy battles are being fought at the Svatove-Kreminna line, as well as in the direction of Lysychansk. The most difficult situation remains in the Soledar-Bakhmut-Mayorsk sector. There, the enemy is actually trying to move forward over his corpses, but the units of the Defense Forces are holding back the enemy offensive at the cost of super efforts," - Zaluzhny said following the results of the first telephone conversation with Milli in the new year.

In addition, he noted that in the Donetsk direction, the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to hold positions around Avdiivka and continue counter-offensive operations.

"We securely hold defensive lines in the Zaporizhzhia direction and put effort into protecting against the hostile shelling of Kherson, primarily civilians and the city's critical infrastructure facilities," Zaluzhny said.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine added that the situation on the border with Belarus is under control. From December 31 until this morning, the enemy launched 14 cruise missiles and employed 94 "Shahed-136" kamikaze drones.

“I thanked General Milley for the foreign-manufactured anti-aircraft missile systems provided with his active assistance. Today, they are primarily saving the lives of Ukrainian civilians. We also discussed the Defence Forces needs in order to continue the fight against the aggressor. I highly appreciate General Milley's leadership in providing Ukraine with military aid. Mutual trust and shared vision assist in ramping up the capabilities of the Ukrainian military to defend our state's peaceful cities and villages, which guarantees security throughout Europe," Zaluzhny said.