In the fighting in Ukraine, the warring parties Kiev and Moscow complain about a lack of ammunition – especially in the fierce battles for the city of Bakhmut in the east. According to official reports, Ukrainian Supreme Commander Valery Salushny telephoned US Chief of Staff Mark Milley to point out the necessary supply of ammunition and technology. In addition, the country's air defense must be strengthened, he said. According to its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian private army Wagner continues to complain about a lack of artillery shells and cartridges.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told Bild am Sonntag that a lack of ammunition was the "number one" problem in the fight against the Russian occupiers. "Germany could really help more with ammunition. With artillery ammunition," he said. Western experts believe that Russia's stocks have also shrunk sharply.
The Russian mercenary force Wagner alone needs 10,000 tons of ammunition per month for the fight for Bakhmut, Prigozhin said in a video. He urged the Russian leadership to deliver. The video allegedly shows him on the roof of a house in the largely destroyed city of Bakhmut – about 1.2 kilometers from the administrative center, which is held by Ukrainian troops. The video showed many destroyed houses and streets – comparatively rare shots from the city, which once had 70,000 inhabitants. Today, only a few thousand live there. "We will win," Prigozhin said.
According to Foreign Minister Kuleba, Ukraine will continue to resolutely defend Bakhmut despite heavy losses. The longer the city is defended, the greater the probability "that other cities will not suffer the same fate".
The strategically important city of Bakhmut has been contested since late summer. It is the main part of the defensive line established between Siversk and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region after the Russian conquest of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. If successful, the Russian troops opened the way to the cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. This could bring a complete conquest of the Donetsk region closer.
Bundeswehr wants to reorder self-propelled howitzers
The Bundeswehr wants to buy artillery pieces of the type "Panzerhaubitze 2000". As the "Bild am Sonntag" reported in advance, the budget committee is to decide on the additional purchase at its meeting on 29 March. According to the paper, ten "self-propelled howitzer 2000" are to be ordered for 154.7 million euros and a purchase option for 18 more guns is to be concluded. Ten months ago, the Bundeswehr handed over 14 of its self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine.
Zelenskyj: Russia is "synonymous with terror"
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also complained about new "brutal terrorist attacks" by Russia in other regions. Day and night there are these attacks against cities and communities, he said in his video message distributed in Kiev every evening. "Missiles and artillery, drones and mortars – the evil state uses a variety of weapons with the one goal of destroying lives and leaving nothing human," Zelensky said.