Vadym Skibitsky told the Guardian in an interview published on Friday that Ukraine now relies heavily on weapons provided by the West in its counterattack against Russia. Russia, meanwhile, is currently overtaking Ukraine in terms of artillery supplies, according to the official. “It all depends on what [the West] “It gives us,” Skibitsky said. “Ukraine has up to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces. “Our western partners have given us about 10 percent of what they have.” While there are indications that neither Russia nor Ukraine is currently ready for a decisive victory in the conflict, Skibitsky’s comments suggest that weapons or lack thereof could serve as a turning point in the ongoing “artillery war.” Maps of territorial control estimates in Ukraine, published daily by the Institute for War Studies, show that Russia and Ukraine are gaining and losing ground only in small increments in recent weeks. Skimitsky told the Guardian that Ukraine uses between 5,000 and 6,000 rounds of artillery every day. They have almost run out of their own artillery ammunition and are using 155-caliber NATO missiles, he said. Russia’s attack on Ukraine has turned into an artillery war and Ukraine is in danger of losing it, according to the deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence service. Above, a member of the Ukrainian army stands in an armored vehicle moving towards the front line in the city of Lysychansk in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on June 9. Aris Messini / AFP via Getty Images Skibitsky said even Ukraine’s Western arms suppliers had begun to run out of stock. “Europe is also delivering lower caliber missiles, but as Europe runs out, the quantity becomes smaller,” he said. Last month, US President Joe Biden signed a $ 40 billion bailout package for Ukraine. It also announced an additional $ 700 million security assistance package for the country on June 1st. Skimitsky did not mention US assistance in the interview, nor is it expected to have a significant impact on Ukraine’s fight against Russia. While Ukraine is channeling its ammunition and arms supplies, it is also reported to be seeing large daily losses in manpower. An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the BBC this week that 100 to 200 Ukrainian soldiers are being killed every day on the front lines of the war. Russia, meanwhile, has largely avoided commenting on the losses of its own troops. Ukraine’s defense ministry said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that some 31,500 Russians had been killed in the war. Russia last published the death toll on March 25, saying 1,351 Russian soldiers and officers had been killed in Ukraine, Radio Free Europe reported. Newsweek contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Service for comments.
