Ukrainian troops face shortages of artillery shells and have scaled back some military operations because of a shortfall of foreign assistance, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi told Reuters. Ukrainians trust the Armed Forces and the chief commander most, a poll finds. Zaluzhnyi says the situation on the front lines is not a stalemate.
Ukrainian troops scale back some operations because of shortfall of foreign aid, commander says
Frontline Ukrainian troops face shortages of artillery shells and have scaled back some military operations because of a shortfall of foreign assistance, Ukraine’s commander of the Tavria operational strategic group, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi told Reuters.
Tarnavskyi said the shortage of artillery shells was a “very big problem” and the drop in foreign military aid was having an impact on the battlefield.
“There’s a problem with ammunition, especially post-Soviet (shells) — that’s 122 mm, 152 mm. And today these problems exist across the entire front line,” he said in an interview. “The volumes that we have today are not sufficient for us today, given our needs. So, we’re redistributing it. We’re replanning tasks that we had set for ourselves and making them smaller because we need to provide for them,” he said, without providing details.
Ukrainian troops on the southeastern front have gone on the defensive in some areas but are trying to attack in others, he said.
Russian forces also face ammunition problems, Tarnavskyi said, without specifying their nature.
Ukrainians trust Armed Forces, chief commander most, poll finds
Ukrainians’ trust in President Volodymyr Zelenskyi dropped to 62 per cent in December 2023, down from 84 per cent in December 2022. Ninety-six per cent of Ukrainians trust the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and 88 per cent trust the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. At the same time, 59 per cent have confidence in both Zelenskyi and Zaluzhnyi, a survey by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology found.
The poll was conducted between November 29, 2023 and December 9, 2023.
According to the survey, while trust in the President has fallen, most Ukrainians still retain trust in him.
Sixty-two per cent have confidence in the President, and 18 per cent do not trust him. In December 2022, 84 per cent of Ukrainians trusted the President, and five per cent did not trust him. He has a trust-distrust balance of +42 per cent, compared with last year’s +80 per cent.
An absolute majority of Ukrainians — 96 per cent, unchanged from a year ago, continue to have trust in the Armed Forces. Eighty-eight per cent trust Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and only four per cent do not trust him.
According to the pollster, 59 per cent have confidence in both the Ukrainian President and Ukraine’s army chief. The share of Ukrainians who have contrasting opinions of the two, is quite small. Only 14 per cent trust the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and do not trust the President. Only one per cent trust President Zelenskyi and do not trust General Zaluzhnyi.
Zaluzhnyi says situation at front lines is not a stalemate
When approached by “RBC Ukraine” journalists on the sidelines of the presentation of Ukraine’s defense logistics agency on Monday, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi declined to comment on Ukraine’s military plans for 2024.
He said the situation on the front lines had not reached a stalemate. When asked whether Ukraine plans counteroffensive operations over winter, Zaluzhnyi said: “This is war. I can’t say what I plan, what we should do. Otherwise, it will be a show, not a war,” he was quoted as saying.
In an interview with Fox News earlier this month, Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Rustem Umerov said that Ukrainian troops had made it through the first two of Russia’s three major defensive lines and that Ukraine has a plan for 2024.
When asked to comment on a recent article by The New York Times that quoted “some in the U.S. military” as saying that they want Ukraine to focus on holding the territory it has rather than to go on the attack, President Zelenskyi, speaking at a news conference in Oslo, Norway, last week, said that the statements do not signal crisis in the war. “It is not about crisis, it is about winter. Winter always slows down the operations, counteroffensive or defensive. That’s what the signal is about,” he said.
Can Russia wage a war of attrition? Ukraine in Flames #547
In this episode of Ukraine in Flames, we shed light on Russia’s deteriorating image in the face of declining financial support, indicating potential financial constraints by 2024, and reveal Putin’s geopolitical ambitions beyond the current war’s geographic limits. The ambassadors’ discussion touches on the gaps created by human greed among economic players who are unwilling to give up all profits. They discuss the urgent need to address communication gaps with partners, as well as Russia’s growing isolation and resistance from the global south, highlighting the complex geopolitical dynamics at work. Take a watch of UIF #547 to learn more!
- Valeriy Chaly, Chairman of the UCMC Board, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA (2015-2019).
- Oleh Shamshur, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, Ambassador of Ukraine to the USA (2005-2010) and to France (2014- 2020).