Ukraine demands faster deliveries of weapons and ammunition from the West

Mikhail Pontolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called on European countries to speed up arms transfers to Ukraine.

According to Forbes, there is growing concern about whether Ukrainian troops have enough weapons and ammunition to repel an expected attack by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in the coming days.

Pontoliak wrote on Twitter that weapons from Europe are “too late” to arrive and that Ukraine needs these weapons “now”.

A U.S. official told CNN that there was growing concern that Ukraine might not have ammunition to deal with Russian troops, especially artillery, with heavy ground fighting expected in the coming days.

The unnamed official said Ukrainian troops used “thousands of artillery shells” a day during previous periods of heavy fighting and that the 40,000 artillery shells the United States was sending to Ukraine to accompany 18 trailers could be fired. exhausted within a few days.

While Andriy Yermak, Zelensky’s chief of staff, spoke kindly of President Joe Biden about arms supplies to Ukraine in an interview with the Atlantic, he also expressed his confusion about the slow arrival of arms.

Ukrainian troops were able to repel the Russians thanks to military assistance provided by NATO and more than 25 countries.

The United States has pledged more than $ 2.5 billion in military aid to Ukraine since the Russian-led invasion began, including $ 800 million in new military aid to Ukraine announced by Biden on Wednesday. The European Union has allocated $ 1.6 billion to fund military assistance from member countries to Ukraine.