One of Ukrainian warriors of the 43rd Artillery Brigade, wrote on May 7 on X social media that this brigade had received additional shells and had been firing since the morning.
Although this message cannot be considered as an official comment of the brigade, it resonated for two reasons:
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1) The problem of "shell famine" in the Defense Forces of Ukraine that is being actively discussed;
2) The 43rd Artillery Brigade is associated primarily with the largest caliber of artillery in the Armed Forces of Ukraine - the 2S7 Pion self-propelled 203 mm cannon.
As for the interpretation of the signal, everything looks quite simple. Even if this is just an unofficial post by a fighter of the 43rd Artillery Brigade, it can be considered "news from the frontline" and is evidence that the problem with shells for the Armed Forces of Ukraine is gradually being resolved.
As for the range of ammunition that the 43rd Artillery Brigade could have received for intensive firing, the situation is not so clear. The official photographs of the 43rd Airborne Brigade's press service showed not only Soviet Pion self-propelled cannon, but also Western PzH 2000 155-mm self-propelled howitzer. It should be noted that the PzH 2000 howitzer was supplied to Ukraine not only by Germany, but also by Italy.
Therefore, it can be assumed that Ukraine`s artillery received a significant number of 155-mm shells through non-public supplies, and now it is all helping to eliminate russian occupiers.
However, the option of receiving additional ammunition for the 2S7 Pionself-propelled 203 mm cannon cannot be ruled out either. There have already been cases when Ukrainian artillerymen had 203-mm shells from very "exotic" sources of supply.
For instance, in January 2023, the Defense Forces of Ukraine used 203-mm 53-G-620-Sh bunker-buster munitions for the B-4 howitzers from the WWII era to fire from the 2S7 Pion self-propelled cannon.
According to one version, such shells could have been provided by Albania from its own stocks. And in June of that year, Ukrainian artillerymen could receive American M106 artillery munitions for the M110 self-propelled howitzer.
Earlier Defense Express reported about another version of russian tank shed with a new approach to armor, and mine warfare.
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