Ukraine appears anxious to reject a U.S. official's claim that fighting in this war could take on a "reduced tempo" over the winter.
On Saturday, U.S. Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said the United States expects fighting in Ukraine to have a "reduced tempo" over the next few months before counteroffensives resume in earnest in the spring.
A spokesman for Ukraine's armed forces in the east of the country, where fierce fighting is raging as Russian troops try to advance on and capture the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk, said Sunday that Ukraine is "doing everything to be ready for the winter period of military operations" and is preparing its equipment and units for winter combat.
Ukraine has sought to dispel any notion of a slowdown in fighting or a loss of momentum in counteroffensives. President Zelenskyy called for unity and urged citizens to support each other in the face of freezing temperatures. Meanwhile, the Defense Ministry has released videos in recent days of tanks plowing through muddy, waterlogged fields and reported high morale among soldiers.
It will take 10-15 years to replenish Western stocks of artillery ammunition used up in support of the Ukrainian army fighting the Russian invasion, according to the owner of the major arms manufacturer Czechoslovak Group.
Despite the ammunition deliveries to Ukraine, CSG owner Michal Strnad said the Ukrainian armed forces were facing shortages as Western governments downsized their arsenals due to limited production capacity.
Strnad told Reuters his company is now responsible for about 25-30% of European production of NATO -standard 155mm artillery.
"Artillery ammunition is a very scarce commodity today," he said in an interview. "I estimate that it will take 10-15 years to replenish the stocks (of Western armies) because of the war in Ukraine."
European governments have drawn heavily on their arsenals to support Ukraine, which, according to Strnad, is firing 40,000 shells a week from several hundred Western-supplied howitzers against the Russian aggressors.
"A lot has really been supplied to Ukraine," he said. "But the fact is that today the Ukrainians are firing less than they could because they do not have enough ammunition."
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