Ukraine's defense minister says ammunition shortage prevents Kyiv from victory

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said Thursday that an ammunition shortage is preventing Kyiv from winning on the battlefield.

"The shortage of ammunition and shell starvation is a very urgent problem that our armed forces are currently facing," Umerov said at the opening of a conference in Paris on the creation of an artillery coalition led by France and the US

Umerov, who spoke via video link, asked Western partners to help Kyiv solve the problem and he called the strengthening of the artillery -- potentially one of the key needs of Ukraine's troops.

He was supposed to personally attend the conference in the French capital but his visit was canceled "for security reasons."

The Defense Ministry said the trip was postponed "the day before the minister took part in a meeting of the supreme commander's headquarters."

A new date for the visit is being worked out, it added.