‘Our artillery is starving:’ Ukraine holds its breath as US set to approve $60bn of military aid

Kyiv, Ukraine- Soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine say the prospect of final approval in the US Congress of a $60 billion military aid package for Kyiv will serve as a giant morale boost as Russia looks to step up its advance.

The Ukraine aid bill, passed in the United States’ House of Representatives on Saturday, is now due to go to the Senate on Tuesday. If passed in Congress’s upper chamber then President Joe Biden has said he will sign it into law immediately, so that “we can quickly send weapons and equipment to Ukraine to meet their urgent battlefield needs.”

Ukraine’s wish list is no secret. At the top: artillery shells and air defense systems.

For months, Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines have spoken of being badly outgunned by Russian forces. President Volodymyr Zelensky recently said the ratio was 10 to one in Russia’s favor.

“To win, we need ammunition… our artillery is starving,” an artillery reconnaissance commander with the 110th mechanized brigade, callsign “Teren,” told CNN after the vote on Saturday.

Teren knows what he’s talking about, having spent two years defending the industrial town of Avdiivka before it fell to Russia in February. Since then, Moscow’s forces have enjoyed considerable success pushing further west.