Ukraine's Ammunition Crisis Persists as Western Desperation Grows

Update on the conflict in Ukraine for April 8, 2024… - Ukrainian forces continue losing territory as arms, ammunition, and manpower shortages continue to grow; - Ammunition "initiatives" across Europe claiming to have found "millions" of artillery rounds gloss over important factors such as caliber, interoperability, and the condition of rounds held in storage; - At best, the initiatives will temporarily provide Ukraine with enough ammunition to match previous rates of fire, but other critical shortages will continue to grow meaning the vector sum of the fighting will still favor Russian forces; - Attempts by the US and Europe to intervene in Ukraine as a means of checking Russian advances may end in even worse defeat for the collective West; - Attempts by Ukraine to target Russian oil refineries have led Western analysts to falsely conflate fuel export bans with perceived damage and repair efforts; - Claims that Russia is unable to repair energy production infrastructure are based on the same flawed reasoning that led many Western analysts to assume Russia's military industrial base would be crippled following Western sanctions; References: BBC - Barrage of Russian attacks aims to cut Ukraine's lights: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68703356 The Independent - ‘Building destroyers’: The Russian glide bombs changing the face of the war on Ukraine’s eastern front: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/glide-bomb-russia-ukraine-air-strikes-b2521301.html Forbes - Estonia Just Found Another Million Shells For Ukraine (April 6, 2024): https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/04/06/estonia-just-found-another-million-shells-for-ukraine/?sh=26a6a2195ba1 Reuters - NATO pushes for common standards to tackle shortfalls in artillery munitions (June 2023): https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/nato-pushes-common-standards-tackle-shortfalls-artillery-munitions-2023-06-13/ WSJ - Ukraine’s ‘Mad Max’ Trawls Swamps and Minefields for Shells (April 6, 2024): https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/ukraine-mad-max-shells-minefields-6f3b1243 Forbes - Ukraine Could Get Millions Of Artillery Shells—And Soon. It’s Getting Its Best Guns Ready To Fire Away (March 29, 2024): https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidaxe/2024/03/29/ukraine-could-get-millions-of-artillery-shells-and-soon-its-getting-its-best-guns-ready-to-fire-away/?sh=164defe31146 Financial Times - Yellen warns China of ‘significant consequences’ if its companies support Russia’s war in Ukraine (April 6, 2024): https://www.ft.com/content/ba524406-ee6c-4c39-9ac2-110a2549569a Washington Post - With no way out of a worsening war, Zelensky’s options look bad or worse (April 6, 2024): https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/06/ukraine-war-zelensky-options/ Alexander Mercouris - Rus Storms Chasov Yar, Zelensky No Good Options; China: US Trapped Ukr, US Edgy Iran Attack Israel (April 7, 2024): https://youtu.be/NBWnrggWWKo?si=mIH2AmXKjqYYBtDd Reuters - Exclusive: US sanctions hamper Russian efforts to repair refineries (April 4, 2024): https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/us-sanctions-hamper-russian-efforts-repair-refineries-sources-say-2024-04-04/ NYT - Russia Overcomes Sanctions to Expand Missile Production, Officials Say (September 2023): https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/13/us/politics/russia-sanctions-missile-production.html Reuters - Russian refineries targeted by Ukraine's drones (April 2, 2024): https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/russian-refineries-targeted-by-ukraines-drones-2024-03-25/ AJ - Russia orders halt on petrol exports (February 2024): https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/27/russia-to-ban-gasoline-exports-for-six-months#:~:text=Russia%20has%20passed%20a%20six,news%20agency%20Tass%20on%20Tuesday CNBC - Russia’s indefinite ban on diesel exports threatens to aggravate a global shortage (September 2023): https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/22/russias-indefinite-ban-on-fuel-exports-could-worsen-a-global-shortage.html Where to Find My Work: Website: https://landdestroyer.blogspot.com/ Telegram: https://t.me/brianlovethailand Twitter: https://twitter.com/BrianJBerletic Odysee (YouTube alternative): https://odysee.com/@LandDestroyer:8 Rumble (YouTube alternative): https://rumble.com/c/c-1459863 Weibo: https://weibo.com/u/7726044004 ไบรอัน แฟนคลับ (Facebook): https://facebook.com/BrianThaiFanclub/ Line Group: https://lin.ee/JIxTpKe Gab: https://gab.com/BrianBerletic VK (Facebook alternative): https://vk.com/brianberletic How to Support my Work (and thank you!): Buy Me A Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheNewAtlas Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/landdestroyer PromptPay: 0851547235 Cryptocurrency Donations: Ethereum (ETH): 0xee6ed93c3adc474450011e9af22939a0b9b312c7 BitCoin (BTC): 1AfGnbmHxA6cy9YKUSxysXvpJPyecpBKrr Monero (XMR): 845TCXx3pchSBXuDL7FHG679gbWD2wkHS6MJxuq7jFVsVFj7T6xsry747uhhGZUdkaRXbbrMfo5c8RnGfzGZ13KxQUdHVLR