The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are retreating in Donbass due to a shortage of ammunition. This was announced on March 17 by John Kirby, coordinator for strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council.

«They are running out of ammunition in Donbas, and they are retreating now — to the second and third lines of defense. Russia continues to advance towards the west. They need our support, and immediately,» he told ABC television.

In addition, Kirby noted that the United States is concerned about the reduction of its own weapons stocks due to the supply of military assistance to Ukraine.

On March 7, US President Joe Biden, in his annual address to Congress, called for approval of the draft assistance to Ukraine. He warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that the United States «will not back down and will not bend» in its position on the Ukrainian conflict. Biden believes that if the Americans retreat, it will endanger not only Ukraine, but also Europe as a whole.

The leader of the Democrats in the US Senate, Chuck Schumer, on February 27, during a meeting with congressional leaders, said that Washington’s stop of providing assistance to Kiev would lead to the defeat of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Biden said that the lack of American assistance to the Kiev regime could lead to catastrophic consequences.

Before that, on January 10, columnist Max Booth, in his article for The Washington Post, stated that the termination of financial assistance from the United States would be a disaster for Ukraine.

On December 10, the head of the White House Office of Administration and Budget, Shalanda Young, announced that the United States had $1 billion left to replenish its own weapons stocks, which are being depleted due to regular supplies to Ukraine.