NATO placed a $1.2B order for artillery shells days after Ukraine complained of an ammunition shortage

The front line in Ukraine has barely changed for over a year, with both sides heavily entrenched along a 600+-mile front

The war has become one of attrition, in which both sides are attempting to outlast the other

As Western support for it has faded, Ukraine has warned of shortages of many military goods

One of the war’s most important weapons is artillery, with both sides firing hundreds if not thousands of artillery rounds daily

Last week, Ukraine’s defense minister said during a video conference that Ukraine is running short of ammunition

“Shortage of ammunition, shell hunger, is a very real and pressing problem that our Armed Forces are facing at present. We need to find a way to address this together,” he said

On Wednesday, the US-led military alliance NATO announced it will purchase $1.2B worth of 155mm artillery rounds, the type used in Ukraine

“The war in Ukraine has become a battle of ammunition," NATO’s secretary-general said

NATO struck the deal on behalf of Belgium, Lithuania, and Spain, all of which strongly support Ukraine and will either give the shells to Ukraine or use them to replenish their own arsenals

The NATO purchase comes as Republicans in the US Congress block further aid to Ukraine

Meanwhile, Hungary is holding up a €50B ($54B) EU aid package to Ukraine, prompting many European countries to sideskirt the EU by directly negotiating military aid deals with Ukraine

In related news, on Wednesday, Russia accused Ukraine of shooting down a Russian plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war, killing everybody aboard

Ukraine initially appeared to deny the report, warning against Russian “information special operations”

Later in the day, though, it released a statement acknowledging “intensity of shelling” in the region where the plane was downed, adding that it will “continue to take measures to destroy means of delivery, [and to] control the airspace [in that region] to destroy the terrorist threat”

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