Ukraine might be running out of artillery rounds, U.S. official warns

Ukrainian artillery firing
(Image credit: Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Ukrainian forces defending their country against Russian invasion could face shortages of ammunition — especially artillery rounds — once Russia begins its expected offensive in eastern Ukraine, a U.S. official told CNN on Saturday.

NBC News reported Saturday that "the main weapons of this new offensive will likely be artillery and short-range missiles," according to a senior defense official.

Per CNN, the U.S. "is shipping 18 155mm towed howitzers and 40,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine as part of the new security assistance announced by President Joe Biden's administration this week." Unfortunately for Ukraine, those 40,000 rounds might only last a few days. Even as much of the Russian invasion force has stopped fighting to regroup, Ukrainian troops have still been expending thousands of artillery rounds per day.

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Last month, the Biden administration released a fact sheet explaining that the U.S. had already sent Ukraine over one million "grenade, mortar, and artillery rounds." The fact sheet did not offer a more detailed breakdown.

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