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Fear and Hoarding on Ukraine’s Eastern Front
Fear and Hoarding on Ukraine’s Eastern Front
We were standing outside the ammunition warehouse for a self-propelled artillery brigade on Ukraine’s eastern front. The door was locked, and the brigade commander didn’t have the key.
Quick Facts
- Ukraine’s defensive lines have stabilized since the fall of Avdiivka, but ammunition shortages are taking a toll on the war effort.
- U.S. aid to Ukraine remains blockaded in Congress, and Europe has failed to meet Ukraine’s demand for artillery shells.
- The ammunition shortage has forced Ukrainian forces to ration shells and rely on reserves, impacting their ability to hold positions.
Valerii, a former beekeeper, shared his optimism about a big harvest this year, but the reality behind the locked warehouse door was far starker than any Western leader has been willing to admit on record. The ammunition shortages that began in 2023 are taking a toll on Ukraine’s war effort. U.S. aid to Ukraine remains blockaded in Congress, and Europe has failed to meet Ukraine’s demand for artillery shells. The ammunition shortage has forced Ukrainian forces to ration shells and rely on reserves, impacting their ability to hold positions.
We were visiting a stretch of front in eastern Ukraine, where Foreign Policy was invited to embed with some of the troops tasked with holding the line against relentless Russian combined-arms offensives. For the safety of the men who spoke to us, names have been changed, and their operating locations are not being disclosed.
It was late March. Ukraine’s frozen steppe had thawed in the spring, and the sun was beating down on the front lines of Europe. It had been six weeks since the fall of Avdiivka, a town in the Donetsk region that had about 30,000 residents before the war, and while the Russian offensives had not let up, Ukraine’s defensive lines had stabilized since they withdrew from Avdiivka’s meat grinder.
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