Ukraine Troops Running Out of Ammo, Losing on the Frontlines Against Russian Forces

Ukraine is failing on the frontlines and is now almost entirely reliant on western armaments to keep Russian forces away, according to a Ukrainian military official.

Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said the current situation on the frontlines has become "an artillery war," and Kyiv forces "are losing in terms of artillery."

Skibitsy disclosed that Ukraine now depends on what the West provides them.

"Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces. Our western partners have given us about 10% of what they have," he said.

The official noted that Ukraine is using 5,000 to 6,000 artillery rounds per day and have almost utilized all artillery ammunition, and they are now using "155-caliber Nato standard shells."

Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that between 60 and 100 Ukrainian troops were killed every day, with another 500 injured. Ukraine has kept the exact number of military casualties undisclosed.

Skibitsky emphasized the importance of the west providing Ukraine with long-range rocket systems to destroy Russian artillery from afar.

Oleksiy Arestovych, a Ukrainian presidential adviser, stated this week that Ukraine needs 60 multiple-rocket launchers to defeat Russia, significantly more than the handful promised by the UK and US, as per a report from The Guardian.

CNBC reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the country's troops are holding on in cities in the Donbas region. This refers to the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in the easternmost part of Ukraine.

Vladimir Putin Hints on Possible Expansion of Russian Territory

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin seemed to grimly hint at more territorial expansion during a speech to young entrepreneurs in Moscow.

Putin compared himself to Peter the Great, the 18th-century Russian ruler who led a conquest of the Baltic coast during his battle against Sweden, per Al Jazeera.

As the Kremlin's soldiers continued a grinding war of attrition in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, Putin spoke of his country's need to "take back" territory and "defend itself."

Putin drew parallels between Peter the Great's establishment of St Petersburg and modern-day Russia's objectives following a visit to a Moscow exhibition commemorating the tsar's 350th birthday.

The Russian president said when Peter the Great established St Petersburg and declared it the Russian capital, "none of the countries in Europe recognized this territory as belonging to Russia."

"It is our responsibility also to take back and strengthen," Putin said, clearly referring to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

He said there were moments in history when the country "have been forced to retreat, but only to regain our strength and move forward."

Putin further stated: "It's impossible - do you understand - impossible to build a fence around a country like Russia. And we do not intend to build that fence."

EU Gas Embargo on Russia, Not Possible

Meanwhile, the European Union will not be able to enforce a Russian gas embargo in its next set of measures, according to Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto.

In a CNBC report from the sidelines of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Ministerial Council Meeting in Paris, Szijjarto said that the West has to make sure that the sanctions they impose "are hurting more those against whom we impose the sanctions than ourselves."

"We have to have a very clear position on the war, which we do have, we condemn Russia for this military aggression. We stand with Ukraine. But we have to take into consideration reality as well," the Hungarian official added.

According to Szijjarto, Russia now supplies 65% of Hungary's oil needs and 85% of its gas supplies, with the landlocked European country unable to drastically lower its reliance on Russian hydrocarbons due to a lack of available infrastructure.

To hobble President Vladimir Putin's war machine, the EU agreed late last month to enforce a partial embargo on Russian crude. The weakened agreement covers Russian oil carried into the EU by sea, with an exception made for pipeline imports.