Ukrainian artillerymen receive shells to counter Russian incursion near Kharkiv

(Patria) - Ukrainian soldiers operating howitzers in the Kharkiv region near the Russian border are working day and night to stop the incursion of Moscow's troops, and are finally receiving shells for it.

Ukrainian defenders have been plagued by a shortage of artillery shells and other weapons for months as the U.S. Congress withheld billions of dollars in military aid. As lawmakers in Washington debated, Russian forces pressed on the front lines, advancing on the eastern front.

With a $61 billion aid package belatedly approved by Congress last month, Ukrainian artillerymen say the dangerous shortage is beginning to ease, Reuters reported.

Those in the northern districts of the Kharkiv region say the fighting is more intense than their previous assignment in Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine that Russia captured last year after months of fighting.

Russian forces crossed the border earlier this month and say they have captured a dozen villages. The town of Vovchansk, five kilometers from the border, remains a focal point of the incursion. Ukrainian forces control about 60% of the town and are fighting house-to-house to repel Russian attacks. The stakes are high, capturing Vovchansk would be Russia's most significant gain since the start of the invasion.

Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is 70 km away.