Situation with ammunition at frontline is bad, but not critical - Ukraine's Intelligence Chief Budanov 

Budanov said this in an interview with the French newspaper Libération.

Answering the question about the situation with ammunition at the front, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine said that the situation is "bad, but not critical".

"There is a real lack of ammunition, and there are objective reasons for this. We have had two years of high-intensity warfare, and 10 years of conflict in total. Therefore, the problem we are experiencing is logical. The volumes supplied by our partners are not enough to cover our needs, as well as those of our industry," Budanov said. 

He clarified that Ukrainians are experiencing a shortage of artillery ammunition in general and 155 mm artillery systems, as well as shells for these systems.

"We also lack shells for long-range counter-battery combat, as well as systems for long-range missile strikes," Budanov added. 

However, the head of the Defence Intelligence said he was optimistic about further US military assistance. According to him, Ukraine is also trying to accelerate the pace of its own production, but "the volume of weapons and ammunition used is reaching a level that would be unaffordable for any state."

He stressed that even Russia, unable to produce enough shells on its own, buys them from North Korea and Iran.

• On 10 February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyyi, commanders and government officials held a wide-ranging meeting on weapons and ammunition production.