More civilians die in Ukraine as a think tank warns delays in US aid will hamper Kyiv's forces
The IndependentFor free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} More civilians died across Ukraine Sunday as analysts warned that delays in U.S. military assistance would see Kyiv struggle to fight off Russian offensives. The news came as Washington-based think tank the Institute for the Study of War warned that delays in Western military assistance would increasingly hamper Ukraine’s ability to fight back Russian advances. Ukraine’s military chief, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Saturday that Ukraine’s battlefield situation in the industrial east had “significantly worsened in recent days,” as warming weather allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh push along several stretches of the more than 1,000-kilometer -long front line. In an update on the Telegram messaging app, Syrskyi said that Russian forces had been “actively attacking” Ukrainian positions near the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut and Pokrovsk, and beginning to launch tank assaults as drier, warmer spring weather made it easier for heavy vehicles to move across previously muddy terrain.