Kyiv hopes that Ukrainian soldiers will have enough ammunition by April, including thanks to deliveries from its allies, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a press conference during a visit to Luxembourg on March 19.
Ukraine is facing critical shell shortages, as $61 billion in funding from the U.S. remains stuck in Congress. Delays in military assistance have already had a direct impact on the battlefield, contributing to the loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka.
Several European countries joined a Czech-led initiative to procure from non-EU countries 800,000 sorely needed artillery ammunition for Ukraine. The rounds could start flowing to Ukraine by June, according to Tomas Pojar, Czech prime minister's security advisor.
"We hope that this Czech initiative, which Luxembourg joined, will help us, and beginning since (from) April we will have enough ammunition to deter our frontline," Shmyhal said, according to The Guardian.
Ukraine also expects to get medium- and long-range missiles to cut Russian logistics in the occupied territories, the prime minister said.
"This is as important as artillery shells for us," Shmyhal added.
Since the beginning of 2024, Russia fires seven times more shells than Ukraine, according to Lieutenant General Ivan Havryliuk, Ukraine's deputy defense minister.
Moscow is producing close to 250,000 artillery munitions monthly, or around 3 million per year, which is nearly three times as many artillery munitions as the U.S. and Europe can send to Ukraine, CNN reported on March 11, citing NATO intelligence estimates and unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
