Ukraine’s newly appointed colonel-general, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Friday that armed forces must find new ways to fight to achieve victory over Russian invaders.

In his first public remarks since taking command of the 800,000 Ukrainian forces, Syrskyi focused on drones and electronic warfare as examples of using new technology to achieve a victorious end of the war.

He also stated that his immediate goals are to improve the rotation of troops from the front lines.

His remarks appear to align with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s goal of bringing “renewal” to the armed forces and adopting a fresh approach to the fight after Thursday’s military top brass shake-up.

Syrskyi’s appointment to the top military position comes at a challenging time for Ukraine, which is facing a stalemate amid the uncertainty of getting an infusion of military aid from the U.S.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan delegation of U.S. Congress members met Friday with Zelenskyy seeking to give assurances they would do their part to get crucial, stalled military aid legislation through the House of Representatives.

The delegation consisted of four members of the House Intelligence Committee: Republicans Mike Turner and French Hill, along with Democrats Jason Crow and Abigail Spanberger.

“The United States is working diligently in the House of Representatives and the Senate to secure the funding that is necessary in 2024,” Turner told journalists at a press conference before the delegation left to meet Zelenskyy.

The U.S. has been Ukraine’s largest supplier of military assistance in Ukraine’s defensive war against Russia, but that help is stalled while Congress wrangles over a bill providing aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The $95.34 billion bill advanced in the U.S. Senate on Thursday after Republicans blocked previous compromise legislation.

“It’s delayed this year during the course of not only a presidential election year, but also controversies in the House about politics,” Hill said.

The lawmakers also met with officials from the SBU and GUR intelligence agencies, the U.S. ambassador to Kyiv said.

“We stand with Ukraine not just because we understand that defending freedom and democracy around the world is an American value, but we stand with Ukraine because it’s also in America’s interests to do so,” said Crow.

Prisoner exchange possible, says Putin

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin used an interview broadcast late Thursday with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to urge Washington to recognize Moscow’s interests and persuade Ukraine to sit down for talks.

Putin said it’s up to Washington to stop supplying weapons to Ukraine, which he called a U.S. “satellite,” and persuade Kyiv to negotiate, saying a deal was the way to end the war.

Putin repeated his claim that the full-scale invasion in February 2022 — which Kyiv and its allies describe as an unprovoked act of aggression — was to protect Russian interests and prevent Ukraine from posing a threat to Russia by joining NATO.

He also said the West won’t succeed in inflicting a “strategic defeat” on Russia in Ukraine and rejected allegations that Moscow harbors plans to attack Poland or other NATO countries.

Putin said Russia is ready to negotiate a prisoner exchange for The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed in March 2023 on espionage charges he denies. The Russian leader suggested Moscow wants the release of a Russian imprisoned in Germany.

At a press conference Thursday, White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby cautioned not to take Putin’s comments “at face value,” reminding that Russia was the one that initiated the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is in Washington for talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday to discuss a new round of U.S. military aid for Ukraine.

The vital support is being held up by disputes in Congress.

Both sides down drones

Ukraine said Friday that its military downed 10 Russian drones overnight in the eastern Kharkiv region.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry said its overnight military operations included downing 19 Ukrainian drones over four regions — Kursk, Bryansk, Oryol, and Krasnodar — and the Black Sea.

On the battlefield, Ukrainian officials reported Thursday that Russia attacked overnight with 17 drones, leaving damage in Mykolaiv and Odesa but no reported casualties.

The Ukrainian air force said the country’s air defenses destroyed 11 of the drones over the Mykolaiv, Odesa, Vinnytsia and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

Vitaliy Kim, the regional governor in Mykolaiv, said on Telegram there was damage to residential and industrial buildings.

In Odesa, regional Governor Oleh Kiper reported damage to an unfinished high-rise building and a school.

Russia’s military said Thursday it shot down a Ukrainian drone that was targeting Crimea.

Ukraine accused Russia on Friday of using toxic chemicals in more than 200 attacks on the battlefield in January alone, a sharp increase in what it said were recorded instances of their use by Russian forces since they invaded two years ago.

Russia has denied Ukraine’s allegations and has instead accused Ukrainian forces of using chemical weapons on Russian forces, which Kyiv denies.

Neither side has produced evidence and Reuters news agency reported it has not been able to verify the allegations.

However, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the “Tavria” operational grouping based in the southeast, said separately on Telegram that enemy troops deliver chemical-loaded ammunition with drones. He mentioned chloropicrin in reference to chemicals he said had been used on Thursday.

Some information is from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.