‘Hurry with the artillery’

UKRAINE is pleading with the West to speed up deliveries of weapons as betterarmed Russian forces continue to pound the east of the country.

The war in that part of Ukraine is now primarily an artillery battle in which Kyiv is severely outgunned, officials warn.

They say the tide of events could be turned only if Washington and others fulfil promises to send more and better weaponry, including rocket systems.

“This is an artillery war now,” said Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence.

“Everything now depends on what the West gives us. Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces.”