At the end of a surprise visit to Kyiv on Tuesday, May 14, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, dressed in jeans and toting a guitar, performed Neil Young's Rockin' in the Free World in a bar in the Ukrainian capital. This was presumably a very personal attempt to boost the morale of the Ukrainian population, currently being shaken by a new Russian ground offensive in the Kharkiv region.
Earlier in the day, at this point dressed in a dark suit and neatly knotted tie, the US diplomat promised Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (dressed in his customary military fatigues), that the $60 million (€55 million) in US military aid on its way to his country would make a "real difference" on the battlefield.
Clearly concerned, the Ukrainian head of state urged the West to "speed up arms deliveries. Too much time is currently elapsing between the announcement of [aid] packages and the actual arrival of weapons on the front line".
On the Donbas front, the impact of these political statements is minimal, drowned out by the din of Russian shells, missiles and bombs. Pinned down in a defensive position and desperately short of ammunition, Ukrainian soldiers fire only the bare minimum to repel attacks. The "firing ratio" – the number of shots exchanged across the front in military jargon – has never been so unfavorable to the Ukrainians, who fire an average of 12 times fewer explosive projectiles (shells, missiles, rockets and bombs) than their Russian invaders.
Le Monde interviewed soldiers from five different brigades deployed on the Donbas front, where the fiercest fighting is taking place. All confirmed that neither the munitions linked to the "Czech plan" – 800,000 rounds announced this winter – nor those linked to the US aid package voted on April 20 had reached them. "We read the news, but we're realistic. We only rely on what we actually have on hand," explained Maksym (who gave only his first name, like the other people interviewed), 28 and a senior sergeant in the 59th brigade.
Leaning on a crutch, he wistfully watched a training session of some 15 men from his brigade, not far from Pokrovsk, 20 kilometers from the front. Hidden under the treetops, recruits fired their assault rifles and launched grenades. "We're not short of ammunition for the firearms," continued the non-commissioned officer. "But we're short of everything else: drones, anti-drone jammers, shells, missiles... And what we're seeing is that deliveries continue to decline and are becoming increasingly erratic. They only cover the bare minimum." He recounted how his right leg suffered multiple fractures following the explosion of a grenade dropped by an enemy drone. Like many wounded soldiers, he became an instructor.
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