“Give us bullets, grenades! Give us something to kill Russians”. An American sniper fighting in Ukraine paints a grim picture of the front

Ukraine needs basic ammunition like bullets and grenades rather than tanks, says an American sniper fighting alongside Kiev’s army. He pointed out that although combat vehicles are “important”, Ukraine mainly lacks what can keep soldiers alive now, writes Insider.

The soldier claimed that the soldiers were desperate for artillery and ammunition. It is not tanks or expensive combat equipment that they need most now, he added.

Jonathan Poquette told Business Insider that due to the lack of ammunition, Ukrainian soldiers are much more selective in their target selection and are sometimes forced to avoid engaging advancing Russian troops.

Referring to the debate among Ukraine’s allies about what kind of additional aid to give, he relays: “In the West you see a lot of talk about: oh yes, they are donating these vehicles, those vehicles, these vehicles. But actually, to a certain extent, it’s like, bro, I don’t give a damn about vehicles. Give me bullets, give me mortars, give me artillery, give me the stuff for soldiers to fight and kill Russians with.’

Pouqette was fighting in Ukraine as part of the “Chosen Company”, an international force within the Ukrainian Army’s 59th Motorized Brigade. This unit is officially designated as a reconnaissance unit but is often used in assault or even defensive missions.

The sniper, who was wounded in combat in late January, says long-standing shortages of basic weaponry and equipment must be addressed as a matter of priority. “What matters now is ammunition, grenades, anti-personnel mines and other types of mines, missiles, various missile systems. What can one tank do? Not as many as 50,000 artillery shells, 5,000 mortar shells,” he said.

Jonathan Poquette recounted that in some situations the Ukrainian soldiers taking over his position demanded his ammunition and grenades. “It was getting so desperate that right before we left we had to get all our cartridges, take all the bullets out of them and then put our empty cartridges back in the kit and then get all our grenades. It’s something like: Look, you guys need them.”

Publisher: GM

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