Ukraine employs a flexible defense while waiting for new Western ammo to get to the front

Ukrainian firepower has been improving since U.S. lawmakers approved a much-needed military aid package this spring, though not quickly enough to halt the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.

Although the influx of Western munitions has shrunk Kyiv's glaring artillery disadvantage, Moscow's forces are still gaining ground along the snaking front line and will likely continue to do so through the summer, when the drier ground and longer days will only aid their push.

Ukraine is still on the defensive in the Donetsk region, enabling Moscow’s forces to inflict heavy losses during Ukrainian troop rotations and bringing them closer to crucial Ukrainian supply routes.

Kyiv has turned to a bend-but-don't-break strategy to buy time until it can get more Western weapons and ammunition to the front. By ceding some territory, Ukraine has been able to fight from better defended positions, according to interviews with senior Ukrainian military leaders, soldiers and officers in the field, and analysts.

Russia's shrinking munitions advantage

New weapons and ammunition have been trickling to the front line since U.S. President Joe Biden signed off on the massive aid package in April. But it will take weeks, if not months, for Ukraine to fully replenish its depleted stocks.

“It takes time to load ships that must then cross the Atlantic," Ivan Havryliuk, Ukraine’s first deputy minister of defense, told The Associated Press. «But we’re already seeing the (results). Russia’s artillery advantage was 7-to-1 at the start of the year, but is down to 5-to-1 now.”

Havryliuk said that to neutralize Russian airpower, Ukraine needs at least 130 F-16 fighter jets, which he expects to arrive later this year and early next.

“With time, when we set