Ukrainian servicemen in Kharkiv Oblast near the Russian border are finally receiving the artillery shells they need to halt Russia’s advance, according to Euractiv reporters who visited the frontline and spoke with the soldiers.
For six months, Ukrainian troops were hindered by shortages of artillery shells and other weapons due to delays in US Congress approving military aid. Russia exploited this situation by opening a new front in northern Kharkiv Oblast on 10 May.
However, with the recent approval of a $61 billion aid package, Ukrainian gunners report that the crippling shortages are beginning to ease. The fighting in the region is intense, surpassing the soldiers’ previous experiences in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, which Russia seized in 2023.
“We were positioned in the Bakhmut area before, now we have been transferred here. It’s much ‘hotter’ here. We didn’t have shells there. Here, at least we have shells, they started delivering them. We have something to work with, to fight,” said Pavlo, a gunner of Ukraine’s 92nd Separate Assault brigade.
The Ukrainian town of Vovchansk, 5 km inside the border, remains the focal point of the incursion. Ukrainian forces control about 60% of the town and are battling to repel Russian attacks.
Capturing Vovchansk would be Russia’s most significant gain since launching the assault, with Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, just 70 km away.
Ukrainian soldiers are confident that the steady supply of shells will continue, as everyone recognizes the importance of holding their line.
“If we can demonstrate now that we are able in such an extreme situation to stop the enemy’s big scale assault on Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, the enemy will not dare to think of attacking Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy or Poltava region,” said Vitalii, commander of the brigade’s artillery unit.
In a related development, Ukraine’s military reported destroying the last Russian warship armed with cruise missiles stationed in Russian-occupied Crimea.
The attack, which targeted a Russian Tsiklon missile ship in Sevastopol on the night of 19 May, allowed Ukraine to seize the initiative in the Black Sea and undermine Moscow’s ability to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian territory from the sea.
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