Ukraine calls on partners to speed up the supply of ammunition

The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, urged Western countries to expedite the supply of ammunition.

He said this in an interview with the BBC.

The Minister emphasized that every day of supply delay meant someone’s death at the frontline.

Kuleba noted that Western allies were not providing military assistance to Ukraine quickly enough, as they had not been prepared for a military conflict on the scale of the First World War.

He emphasized that Ukraine needed artillery shells.

“We want partners to act faster. And if one delivery is delayed by one day, it means someone will die on the front lines. This means that someone who could still live will die,” said Kuleba.

According to the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the most ammunition is now needed in the area of the city of Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine, which Ukrainian forces have been holding for more than seven months despite repeated attempts by the Russian invaders to seize the city.

Kuleba stated that if Bakhmut fell, other cities would be next: “So, to save lives there… we have to fight in Bakhmut as much as we are physically able.”

As previously reported, during an informal meeting with EU Defense Ministers in Sweden on March 8, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that Ukraine needed a million artillery shells.

He emphasized that “time saves lives”, therefore the decisions must be made as quickly as possible.

“We need a million artillery shells. This will probably require about €4 billion,” the Minister said, answering journalists’ questions.

At the moment, most of the European Union countries have agreed to a plan developed for the rapid provision of artillery ammunition to Ukraine. In particular, it regards accelerating the supply of artillery shells. The countries are also ready to increase the production of ammunition at defense enterprises in Europe.