MOSCOW, December 18. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces have scaled back military operations along the entire frontline due to ammunition shortages, commander of Kiev’s Tavria operational-strategic group Alexander Tarnavsky said.
"There's a problem with ammunition, especially post-Soviet [shells] - that's 122 mm, 152 mm. And today, these problems exist across the entire frontline," he noted in an interview with Reuters. "The volumes that we have today are not sufficient for us today, given our needs. So, we're redistributing it. We're replanning tasks that we had set for ourselves and making them smaller because we need to provide for them," he added.
Tarnavsky also said that while the Ukrainian armed forces had moved to defense in some areas, offensive operations continue in other places. The commander admitted, however, that Ukrainian troops were worn down. "Today, we have certain difficulties with the personnel that we have on the frontlines. Yes, today they are not so fresh, not so rested," he said, emphasizing the need for reserves.
Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin stressed earlier that the US was able and would continue to provide military assistance to both Israel and Ukraine. However, the downward trend in Ukraine aid had emerged even before tensions escalated in the Middle East. Western media outlets reported that Kiev’s allies were getting tired of Ukraine. NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Rob Bauer said at the Warsaw Security Forum on October 4 that the stocks of weapons for Ukraine were running out. The European Union’s top diplomat Josep Borrell admitted on November 13 that the EU would not be able to implement its plan to send one million munitions to Ukraine before the end of the year.