Ukrainian soldiers warn they are rapidly running out of bullets as Putin’s troops advance

Ukrainian gunners taking a rare break from the combat zone say shortages of ammunition and manpower put them at a disadvantage but will not prevent them from continuing the fight. Servicemen of the 43rd Brigade’s artillery unit speaking at their rear base some 20 kms from the unit’s frontline position near Bakhmut, said ammunition stocks were running low. The unit operates Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzers, a medium-range artillery system that uses 155 mm ammunition. The unit’s commander, 29-year-old gunner who identified himself with call-sign Rys said the unit’s stockpile was down to 20 percent from what it used to be. Rys, a professional soldier, has been in charge of the unit since the start of the full-scale invasion. Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said last week a shortage of ammunition, which he described as “shell hunger“, was a big problem for Kyiv’s troops nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.