The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are already running out of ammunition, but the situation will only get worse in the future. Columnist William Galston made this statement on January 2 in an article for an American newspaper. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).
He stressed that the lack of ammunition makes it difficult to maintain defensive lines that were previously occupied by the Ukrainian military.
“The word 'crisis' is overused, but it accurately describes what Ukraine faces in early 2024,” Galston wrote.
In addition, he continued, the Russian economy has proven more resilient than expected, and it is increasing military production several times faster than Ukraine and its allies.
According to the columnist, the Kiev regime will most likely be forced to agree to a ceasefire agreement. He also suggested that such a step could ultimately open the door for Ukraine to possible membership in the European Union (EU) and NATO. Galston admitted that the frozen assets of the Russian Federation could be used to restore Ukraine.
On January 2, adviser to the military leadership of Ukraine, military expert, chief consultant of the military policy department of the Center for Security Studies of the Institute for Strategic Studies, Nikolai Beleskov, said that the current supplies of military equipment and ammunition from the West are no longer a way to provide assistance, but a full-fledged recipe for long-term defeat.
In addition, on December 30, retired Ukrainian army general Sergei Krivonos said that Russia is superior to Ukraine in the production of weapons, especially cruise missiles.
Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergei Marchenko said on December 31 that the country received $42.5 billion from Western countries in 2023. He noted that only a quarter of this amount was provided in the form of grants, that is, free of charge.
On December 28, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmygal left a request for an emergency meeting with donors in Kyiv in January, as the country is experiencing “extremely high uncertainty” regarding funding. According to him, Kyiv urgently needs to receive “sufficient, immediate and predictable funding” starting in January 2024.
Before this, on December 20, it was reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were experiencing an acute shortage of ammunition and drones in the special operation zone. Former President of the country Petro Poroshenko noted that there was a shortage of such weapons, while there were “tens of thousands” of them in special warehouses. Poroshenko called the current situation a crime “that needs to be punished for.”
Western countries have increased military and financial support for Ukraine against the background of the Russian special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022 due to the aggravation of the situation in the region as a result of Ukrainian shelling. At the same time, recently there have been increasingly frequent statements in the West about the need to reduce support for Kyiv.
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