Ukraine’s armed forces are short on ammunition, money and manpower due to attrition from the counteroffensive. It never led to a significant breakthrough, and the U.S. and European Union have suspended a tranche of additional aid, The Wall Street Journal reported.
According to the publication, the shortage of artillery shells has forced the AFU to increasingly use drones with explosives during combat operations. Thus, for every five or six Russian shells, the Ukrainian army responds with one or two. “We use FPV drones more and more often because we don’t have enough shells. Drones cannot fully replace artillery,” said Mikhail Fedorov, Ukraine’s Minister of Digital Transformation.
Drones cannot fly as far or as fast as artillery shells. Sometimes, by the time they reach their destination, the target is gone. Also, they cannot carry as much explosives or hit as large targets.