Ukraine Defense Ministry Tells Critics, ‘We Need Ammunition, Not Advice’ in Video Targeting ‘Warfare Experts’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at NATO headquarters in Brussels, on April 7, 2022. Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

The Ukraine Defense Ministry appeared to take a swipe at the United States and other allies in a video published on Aug. 31 calling for “ammunition, not advice.”

The one-minute video was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, alongside the caption: “Everyone is now an expert on how we should fight. A gentle reminder that no one understands this war better than we do.”

“It seems like everyone is now an expert on Ukrainian warfare,” the video begins, alongside video footage of soldiers fighting in the conflict with Russia and at times interacting with civilians.

“While we appreciate all the attention, we’d like to humbly remind you that if we listened to what non-Ukrainians said in February 2022, we would no longer exist,” the ministry said. “Thanks all the same. But we need ammunition, not advice,” it concluded.

The short video message comes as some U.S. officials have detailed “sobering” assessments of Kyiv’s slowly advancing three-month-old counter-offensive against Russia.

“Our briefings are sobering. We’re reminded of the challenges they face,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) told CNN earlier this month. “This is the most difficult time of the war,” he added.

White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby also told the publication that while Ukrainian troops are making progress, “it’s incremental and it’s slow and it’s not without its difficulties.”

President Joe Biden makes remarks as he meets with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office, on Sept.1, 2021. Doug Mills/The New York Times

‘I Recommend All Critics to Shut Up’

Ukrainian commanders say they are purposefully moving at a slower pace, degrading Russia’s defenses and logistics in order to cut losses before launching an all-out attack.

At a press conference Thursday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also took aim at those criticizing the slow pace of the counteroffensive, arguing that doing so “equals ... spitting into the face of [the] Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day, moving forward and liberating one kilometer of Ukrainian soil after another.”

“I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine, and try to liberate one square centimeter by themselves,” he said at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Spain.

Mr. Kuleba stressed that Ukraine’s military needs artillery shells, armored vehicles, and medical evacuation transportation for soldiers wounded on the battlefield.

Still, the White House has defended Ukraine’s approach to the counteroffensive, and on Tuesday announced another $250 million security package for Kyiv including more weapons and ammunition.

The package includes AIM-9M missiles for air defense, munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 155 mm and 105 mm artillery ammunition, mine-clearing equipment, Javelin, and other anti-armor systems and rockets, and more than 3 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

Tankmen of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade "Kholodnyi Yar" take part in a military training near the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on Aug. 1, 2023. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

NATO Chief Says Ukraine Gaining Ground

It also includes the highly requested medical vehicles and demolition munitions that are used to clear obstacles.

The latest military aid package will utilize the Presidential Drawdown Authority, meaning the Pentagon will take the weapons from existing U.S. stockpiles and transport them to Ukraine.

It marks the Biden administration’s 45th drawdown of equipment from its own stocks to Ukraine since August 2021 and brings total U.S. assistance since the beginning of the war to more than $43 billion.

Speaking to CNN Thursday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the Ukrainians are “gradually gaining ground, meaning that they are pushing back the Russians.”

“They are able to get through some of these heavily defended territories, not least minefields. And therefore it is just even more important to support them,” Mr. Stoltenberg said, adding that there is “no easy way to victory for the Ukrainians.”

“But they are making achievements, they are gaining ground,” the NATO chief continued. “So we need to trust them, we advise, we help, we support, but at the end of the day, this is Ukrainians that have to make those decisions,” he added.

His comments come as Ukraine’s forces have in recent days reached the main Russian defensive lines in the southeastern region, according to officials. The country’s military is now reportedly moving deeper into the Zaporizhzhia region in an effort to strengthen its position.