Minister of Defence: Ukraine faces 'critical' shortage of artillery shells

Kyiv, Ukraine (Svidomi) — Ukraine's defence minister has warned allies of a "critical" shortage of artillery shells at the front as Russia deploys three times the firepower to the frontline every day, according to Bloomberg. 

In a letter to allies, Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said the situation was getting worse by the day. He said Ukrainian forces could fire no more than two thousand shells a day along the 1,500-kilometre front line. That is three times fewer shells than Russia is using.

It is less than a third of the ammunition used by Russia.

Umerov called on EU allies to do more to fulfil their pledge to deliver one million artillery shells. According to him, Ukraine needs to at least match the firepower used by Russia.

At present, Ukraine needs 200,000 155mm shells per month.

Recently, the EU admitted that it will only deliver half of the promised shells by March 2024, despite its pledge to deliver one million.

Estonia estimates that Russia is on track to receive almost double that amount, with about a million rounds coming from North Korea.