UKRAINE HAS DESTROYED a Russian warship in the Black Sea, a crucial battleground area – but the situation overall on the front line is “extremely difficult”, the new head of Ukraine’s army has said.

Ukraine has reported sinking several Russian warships in the Black Sea, including last night, when it says it has sunk a warship off the southern coast of Crimea.

The country’s military intelligence unit and armed forces said they “destroyed” the Caesar Kunikov landing ship using naval drones to inflict “critical holes” on the ship.

Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels that the hit was a “great victory for Ukrainians”. 

The Kremlin refused to comment on the reports in line with its typical position of not responding to statements from Ukraine about successful operations, but military bloggers with links to the Russian armed forces said it was likely that Ukrainian forces had hit the ship. 

On land, however, the situation for Ukraine is more difficult.

Visiting the frontline in eastern Ukraine for the first time since becoming Ukraine’s new commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrsky said that the “operational environment is extremely complex and stressful”. 

“The Russian occupiers continue to increase their efforts and have a numerical advantage in personnel,” he said.

Syrsky visited troops fighting around the key area of Avdiivka in Donetsk, where Russia has mounted a major attempt to capture the city and has surrounded it on three sides with around 50,000 soldiers, according to a Ukrainian army spokesperson. 

“We are doing everything possible to prevent the enemy from advancing deep into our territory,” Syrsky said on social media, adding that troops are operating in “extremely difficult conditions”.

Ukraine relies on support from other countries, especially the United States, to fund and equip its armed forces, but political divisions in the US have threatened to hold up funding streams.

Elsewhere last night, a Russian strike on a hospital in the eastern town of Selydove killed three people, according to Ukrainian officials. A 38-year-old pregnant woman and another women and her nine-year-old son were killed, while a dozen others, including a six-month old baby, were wounded.

24 February will mark two years since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine.

Miroslav Jenča, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe at the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, has said that the root causes of the conflict must be addressed in order to secure peace.

“The approaching anniversary of the invasion is not only an occasion to recount the horrors of the past two years, but also a reminder that the armed conflict in Ukraine did not begin on 24 February 2022, but has been ongoing in the country’s east since 2014,” Jenčas aid in a briefing to ambassadors at the UN Security Council.

“Peace agreements alone will not end violence. Peace processes must address the root causes of the conflict and come with full and equal participation of women and youth and inclusion of civil society voices,” he said.

“What we need for Ukraine, for the region and the world is a just, lasting and comprehensive peace, in line with the UN Charter, international law and the resolutions of the General Assembly.”

Additional reporting by AFP