By Anna Voitenko
DONETSK REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) – Western supplies of artillery shells, delayed by months of political wrangling in Washington before finally being released, have begun to reach Ukrainian units on the front lines, easing pressure on outnumbered forces. number than the Russians.
When Reuters reporters visited an artillery unit in the Donetsk region, the focus of Russian troops’ slow advance along the 1,000-kilometer (600-mile) front, it fired its M-109 self-propelled howitzer as needed.
In the past, soldiers said they were forced to limit the use of 155mm ammunition against the enemy, compromising their ability to support infantry further forward.
“There was ‘grenade hunger’. Ammunition was severely rationed. It had an impact on the infantry. They (the Russians) crawled in from all sides, hurting the infantrymen,” said the unit’s commander, Vasyl, 46, refusing Give yourself your full attention. name.
“Now there is no more ‘shell hunger’ and we work well.”
Demand for artillery ammunition has surged since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, with Kiev’s Western allies depleting their own arsenals while sending bombs to Ukraine, where thousands of rounds are needed every day.
Now, a new influx has started arriving at facilities like Vasyl’s, after the US Congress ended months of delays and approved a $61 billion aid package.
But for Oleh, 39, a gunner in the same unit, the problem is not just ammunition. Ukraine has just launched a major mobilization effort that it hopes will replenish its exhausted and depleted forces in the coming months. Some say it took too long.
“There are very few of us. There are not enough people,” he said. “We don’t have half the people we should have.”
Vasyl is more optimistic as he prepares the howitzer for further action.
Convinced that Ukraine will prevail over the Russian invaders, he rejects Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin’s recent diplomatic forays and promises of cooperation with China and North Korea.
“All these negotiations with Korea and China will not help them. We will win, we will win,” he said. “It’s our spirit, it’s our Ukraine, we are defending it. We will win, at any cost, but we will win.”
(Writing by Ron Popeski and Mike Collett-WhiteEditing by Michael Perry and Peter Graff)
