Ukraine Commander Sounds Alarm on Forces Running Out of Ammo

Ukraine's mobile air defense systems are running out of ammunition and will only be able to ward off a "few" more attacks from Russia, according to a top commander of Kyiv's military.

Russia launched a relentless barrage of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine in late December and the first few days of 2024. While Ukraine claims to have thwarted many of the attacks, concerns about defenses running thin have been mounting, due in part to the flow of aid from Western allies having recently slowed to a trickle.

Lieutenant General Serhii Nayev, commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said during an interview published by Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Thursday that Ukraine is in desperate need of more military aid, highlighting ammunition for air defense systems as a key concern.

"The current situation with man-portable air defence systems for mobile air defence groups is that there is enough ammunition to withstand the next few powerful attacks," Nayev said. "In the medium and long term, we need help from Western countries to replenish the missile stock."

"The priority is more ammunition," he added. "[Russian forces] really want to deplete our air defence system."

Newsweek reached out for comment to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense via email on Thursday.

Nayev went on to say that U.S.-supplied Patriot missile systems were especially needed. Ukraine recently said that the systems were used to destroy at least 15 Russian "Kinzhal" missiles, weapons that Russian President Vladimir Putin once called "undefeatable."

"Of course, we would like more missiles for Patriots and the systems themselves," said Nayev. "No other air defence system in the world is capable of showing such results, especially when fighting Russia."

Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said in an interview published by Reuters last month that Kyiv's military was "replanning" its efforts due to shell shortages seen "across the entire front line," with 122mm and 152mm artillery shells being particularly depleted.

The Ukrainian military, which has relied heavily on donated weapons and military equipment during its nearly two-year war with Russia, may be facing an uncertain future due to several recent setbacks in procuring additional aid.

Last month, the administration of President Joe Biden sent Ukraine its final aid package of 2023, amounting to $250 million worth of missiles, artillery rounds, ammunition and other types of military equipment and supplies.

A far larger $60 billion aid package remains on hold amid partisan disputes in Congress. Ukraine also learned last month that a European Union plan for approximately $54 billion in military aid had been blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

Ukraine has been given a lifeline by some of its European allies. Norway announced earlier this week that it was changing its arms export policy to allow Ukraine to make direct purchases from Norwegian manufacturers.

Additionally, Norway is one of four European NATO members that have pledged to collectively donate dozens of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, which are expected to be a significant upgrade to Ukraine's Air Force. Ukrainian pilots are currently training on the jets in Denmark.

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