Ukrainian troops are trapped in 'artillery war' on critical frontlines - ISW

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shared its regular report.

"Ukrainian officials are increasing the urgency of their requests for more-sophisticated Western-provided weapons systems amid reports of growing Russian artillery superiority," the report says.

In particular, the authors quote Deputy Chief of the Central Intelligence Agency Vadym Skibitsky, who said that Russian troops have 10-15 times more artillery than Ukraine. In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have almost completely exhausted its artillery ammunition.

Given that the parties have switched to protracted positional battles (especially in the area of ​​Severodonetsk and Lysychansk), Ukrainian troops urgently need new supplies of artillery systems.

"As Ukrainian forces use the last of their stocks of Soviet-era weapon systems and munitions, they will require consistent Western support to transition to new supply chains of ammunition and key artillery systems. Effective artillery will be increasingly decisive in the largely static fighting in eastern Ukraine," ISW writes.