As the second anniversary nears of Russia’s all-out invasion, the optimism that heralded Ukraine’s against-all-odds defense has faded. It had diminished throughout 2023, with a failed counteroffensive that ran headlong into heavily mined Russian positions.

One message is constant from Ukrainian soldiers, at multiple points along the front lines facing Russia: an urgent plea for weapons and ammunition, on a scale and timeline that only the United States can provide.

On a frozen battlefield in eastern Ukraine, the main topic of discussion within a dug-in artillery unit is of three jolts of bad news that the soldiers see as closely interlinked:

That the city of Avdiivka had fallen, after months of fierce fighting that Ukrainian officials estimate cost Russia some 17,000 dead troops. That in Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives had recessed until the end of February, further delaying a vote on a $60 billion military aid package.

And, still being digested, that the soldiers have had to substantially cut back and cap the number of shells they can fire at the Russian enemy each day.

“Even without this limitation there was not enough,” says a squad leader who gives the name Sasha. “Soon we’re going to have to fight them with our hands.”

The Ukrainian soldiers burrow into their musty underground bunker, waiting at dawn for target coordinates to fire their 105 mm artillery gun. Russian drones have been active overhead, and two incoming Russian shells had come their way.

But the main topic of discussion below ground – here, on one of the farthest frozen battlefields in eastern Ukraine – is of three new jolts of bad news that these soldiers see as closely interlinked. All are indicative of the urgent need for more American arms and ammunition.

First being digested: a new order to substantially cut back and cap the number of shells they fire at the Russian enemy each day.

“Even without this limitation there was not enough,” says the squad leader of the 1st Presidential Brigade of the Ukraine National Guard, giving the name Sasha. “Soon we’re going to have to fight them with our hands.”

Second, news emerged that the city of Avdiivka had fallen, after months of fierce fighting that Ukrainian officials estimate cost Russia some 17,000 dead troops. That news came to this cramped bunker in emotional form, with a video of a wounded soldier left behind in the chaotic final stages of Ukraine’s retreat, who called his sister to say goodbye. (Relatives later recognized the soldier’s body, along with five others, from videos taken after Russians seized the position, Ukrainian media reported.)

The third piece of bad news was from Washington. The U.S. House of Representatives had recessed until the end of February, further delaying a vote on a $60 billion military aid package that cleared the Senate with bipartisan support. Ukraine deems that assistance instrumental to the war effort, if it is going to halt Russia’s building offensive, if not reverse it.

As the second anniversary nears of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine, the optimism that heralded Ukraine’s against-all-odds defense in 2022 – which forced Russian troops away from the capital, Kyiv, and recaptured swaths of northeast and south Ukraine – has faded.