After months of delay, Ukrainian troops in the Kharkiv region have finally received US ammunition to fight Russian troops.
For a long time, the Ukrainian army experienced a shortage of artillery shells
Ukraine's defenders have been paralysed for several months due to a lack of artillery shells and other weapons, as the US Congress has withheld billions of dollars in military aid.
Russian forces used their advantage on the front line, advancing on the eastern front.
After Congress belatedly approved a $61 billion aid package last month, Ukraine's artillerymen say the catastrophic deficit is beginning to shrink.
According to local residents, the fighting in the north of Kharkiv region is more intense than in Bakhmut, which Russia captured last year and turned into ruins.
It's 24/7, their infantry keeps advancing, and we keep repelling the attacks. We destroy them whenever possible. Previously, we were stationed in the Bakhmut area, but now we have been transferred here. It is much hotter here. We had no shells there. Here, at least, there are shells, they have started to arrive. There is still work to be done,” a gunner with the 92nd Separate Air Assault Brigade who operates the howitzer told the agency.
The military is confident that the supply of shells will continue, as everyone is aware of the importance of holding the front.
If we can demonstrate now that we are able to stop a large-scale enemy attack on Kharkiv and the Kharkiv region in such an extreme situation, then the enemy will not dare to think about attacking Kyiv, Chernihiv region, Sumy region or Poltava region, the commander of one of the artillery units told Reuters.
What Ukraine needs to strengthen the defence of Kharkiv
According to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the delay in military aid from the US significantly complicated the situation at the front and led to the offensive of the occupation army of Russia in the border areas of the Kharkiv region.
He emphasised that as a result of shelling and attacks by the Russian criminal army in the Kharkiv region, hundreds of people were killed and injured.
This is the fault of the whole world. They gave Putin the opportunity to occupy. But now the world can help, Zelenskyy emphasised.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
At the same time, the journalists note that they felt the disappointment of the Ukrainian leader, who paused before answering questions about the recent visit to Ukraine by the head of the US State Department, Anthony Blinken.
Volodymr Zelenskyi also noted that the money allocated to aid Ukraine remains in the States — it is spent at American factories and contributes to the creation of jobs.
