Ukraine is running out of ammunition needed for its US-supplied Howitzer cannons as additional American aid for its troops is being held up by Congress – while Russia is rapidly ramping up its firepower, Kyiv soldiers warned.
A Ukrainian artillery crew manning an M109 Paladin Howitzer said they had been forced to start rationing their ammunition to try to beat back Russian forces near Bakhmut because of dwindling supplies.
“We couldn’t do our job 100%, even if we wanted to,” a commander from the 93rd Mechanized Brigade told CNN, adding that he was looking forward to more ammunition.
“My crew and other crews are just waiting and ready to work all the time,” he said.
The crew finally received a new shipment of ammunition for its Howitzer during CNN with the soldiers, but the supply only included four additional rounds, which were not explosive.
Another Ukrainian commander stationed in Bakhmut admitted that Russia’s war economy was quickly outstripping Ukraine’s own supplies from its allies, with Moscow using its Soviet-era reserves as it attacked the border.
A Ukrainian artillery crew received four additional rounds for the US-supplied Howitzer cannon they were manning, but the additional rounds proved unexploding. CNN Ukraine continues to be attacked by Russia, which has been building up its arms supply over the past year. AFP via Getty Images The Ukrainian military says it has been forced to ration the use of its M109 Paladin Howitzers. CNN
“The ratio is about 10 to 1,” the commander told the outlet in terms of the difference in weapons between the armies of the two countries. “Russia is a country that manufactures ammunition, and they have a strategic stockpile. Yes, they use the old Soviet system. But the Soviet system could still kill.”
Even NATO chiefs echoed that on Tuesday, warning that the war has become a “bullet war.
“Increased ammunition production is an absolute necessity to allow us to continue to provide support to Ukraine,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement Tuesday.
“So far we have dug into our stocks, but with the use of ammunition that we see in Ukraine and the need that we see to continue to provide support to Ukraine, we need to increase production and that is what NATO allies are doing,” Stoltenberg said – noting that the group had signed related contracts worth $10 billion since July.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian Major General Vadym Skibitskyi said Russia was producing up to 130 long-range missiles and 115 short-range rockets per month.
Ukrainian intelligence officials also reported that Moscow had increased ammunition production to about 2 million rounds a year.
Meanwhile, Ukraine was left behind when the Pentagon announced last month that it was sending $250 million worth of weapons to Kyiv, the last batch of US military aid as Congress worries about approving additional aid.
Ukrainian medics work to treat a soldier injured by a Russian missile attack in Kharkiv on Tuesday. AFP via Getty Images
President Biden asked Congress in October to approve $61.4 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine as part of a $106 billion emergency funding request, but the aid package has yet to be approved.
The lack of aid from the US has been highlighted in a German intelligence report which warned that Russia would take advantage of the disparity to launch an all-out attack on Ukraine in the coming weeks.
Norwegian General Eirik Kristoffersen also warned on Sunday that Moscow was building up its weapons stockpile at a much faster rate than previously predicted, widening the gap with Ukraine and threatening to spread the war across Europe.
Kristoffersen added that NATO needed to stay ahead of Moscow, which he said had turned to a “war economy” being rapidly strengthened by allies in Iran and North Korea.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
