From "The Analyst":

FRONTLINE UPDATE

Official Ukrainian sources are repeating the fact they have had to withdraw several dozen 155mm artillery pieces and will continue to pull back more as shells are now in increasingly short supply.
Fierce fighting on the northern front has been taking place with Ukraine so far successfully using drones in place of artillery to keep the Russians at bay. It has at times reduced itself to a Ukrainian tank chasing down individual soldiers that are running off trying to avoid it.
North of Bakhmut at Kremove, the Russians have made further small gains, but these come on a string of continuous small gains that have now become quite a significant area - in fact more than Ukraine gained in the south and Klishievka in the summer. What was once a sizeable Ukrainian salient north of Bakhmut has been completely eradicated over four months.
South of Klishievka at Kurdiomivka, the Russians appear to have taken back the canal tunnels and control over the left bank. This is not good news as the canal line was hard fought in the summer and is a key defence line for either side.
In Avdivka the Russians are
Maki g small gains from the small industrial area in the SE as the press towards the town itself through a residential area. Further along the southern line of Avdivka Russians have continued to make other small incremental gains - this is their strategy. They know they won’t make a breakthrough but they do know that if they keep pushing regardless they will eventually get somewhere if Ukraine can’t reduced them to a pile of corpses. Without artillery that’s hard to do.
In Kherson overall things remain stagnant. Russia complains about the same problems - no counter battery fire, no coordinated response etc.
There’s no sugar coating this to make it palatable. The artillery shells situation is increasingly worrying. The scale of consumption outweighs the supply by probably 5 to 1 around now. Only by using less can things be stretched out.
Ukraine seems reluctantly to be adopting a land for life saved policy, but the eventual problem with that, to paraphrase Winston Churchill, is ‘wars are not won by evacuations’.
US support is about to be announced for around $1 billion. That’s the end of it until a new package is agreed.
While US republican senators and representatives sit down to a warm family lunch this Christmas, perhaps they should remember who is fighting for their freedom to do so, at what amounts to a bargain price for America.
At the same time Europe needs to do more. We need to see Hungary chucked out of decision making in the EU and its NATO access restricted. We need as Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk has said, to see Europe pull itself together and get with the program- so much of Europe seems lethargic and uncomfortable with doing what it’s promised. It’s time to wake up in 2024 before it’s too late!
Ukraine’s sacrifices must not be in vain!

Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!