As foreign aid starts to dry up, a top Ukrainian commander said Ukraine had to downsize its military operations in the war with Russia.

Ammunition Shortage in Ukraine

Top general Oleksandr Tarnavskyi said Kyiv's forces are running out of ammo along the "entire front line" due to a shortfall in foreign aid, BBC reported. He told Reuters that the available artillery shells were inadequate to meet the country's needs, particularly for its Soviet-era weapons.

(Photo : LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
An employee works at the workshop of the "Forges de Tarbes" which produces 155mm shells, the munition for French Caesar artillery guns in use by the Ukrainian armed forces, in Tarbes, southwestern France, on April 4, 2023.

Ukrainian forces have relied on Western aid to power its war machine, and that aid is now running out. As a result, Tarnavskyi said Ukraine was forced to redistribute available resources and change its tactics.

"The volumes we have are not sufficient, given our needs... So, we're redistributing it. We're re-planning tasks that we had set for ourselves and making them smaller because we need to provide for them," he told Reuters.

"In some areas, we moved to defense, and in some, we continued our offensive actions... And we are preparing our reserves for our further large-scale actions. Their intention remains. The only thing is that their actions change, tactics change," he added.

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US, EU Aid for Ukraine Have Been Held Up

This situation arises as billions of dollars in aid from the United States and the European Union (EU) have been held up due to political disputes. 

Earlier this month, Republicans in the US Congress blocked a $60 billion military package for Ukraine, and negotiations have remained stalled as Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson sent the legislature home for the holidays.

It was followed by Hungary's blocking of EU's €50 billion ($54 billion) financial aid for Ukraine last week. The New York Times reported that the country's right-wing leader said the aid should be placed on hold until after the summer.

But despite this, EU leaders have assured Ukraine that it would not be left without support. The EU has promised to send one million artillery shells by March 2024, but only 480,000 have been delivered or are in the pipeline.

Military spending within the EU has already reached a historic high of €240 billion ($261.8 billion) in 2022, marking a 6% increase from the previous year.

The European Defense Agency (EDA) recently reported that this surge represents the eighth consecutive year of growth in the EU's military expenditure, with member states justifying the substantial uptick due to concerns related to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

READ MORE: EU Military Spending Hits Record High of €240 Billion Following Russia's Invasion of Ukraine