Russian artillery advantage on the front significantly diminished: Media

Photo: the advantage of the Russian Federation in artillery at the front has significantly decreased since the beginning of 2024 (Getty Images)

Russia's artillery advantage on the front has significantly decreased, while the Armed Forces of Ukraine need many times more artillery, according to AP.

"It takes time to load ships that must then cross the Atlantic. But we’re already seeing the (results - ed.). Russia’s artillery advantage was 7-to-1 at the start of the year, but is down to 5-to-1 now," said Ukraine's First Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Havryliuk.

According to reports, the 110th Brigade, which fought near the occupied village of Ocheretyne, began receiving new shells less than a month ago.

Press officer of the brigade Ivan Sekach told journalists that the new supplies increased the unit's stocks by 75% compared to last winter when supplies were so low that "the military had no choice but to give up ground to save soldiers’ lives."

"But they aren’t nearly enough to hold off Russia’s advances and often aren’t the large calibers that are most needed. We need four times this amount to operate without counting each shell and prioritizing what to hit," Sekach added.

Shells for Ukraine

In March 2023, the defense and foreign ministers of the EU agreed on a plan for joint procurement of ammunition. It was planned to supply one million rounds to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, European partners failed to fulfill their promise.

Against this backdrop, the Czech Republic proposed supplying ammunition found outside the EU to Ukraine, with plans to deliver 800,000 rounds. It is now known that the first batches of artillery ammunition purchased through the Czech initiative are already arriving in Ukraine.

Norway has also prepared a new aid package for Ukraine worth tens of millions of euros, which includes shells for grenade launchers.