The minister's acknowledgement of the difficult situation with military spending comes as Russian troops steadily advance across the Donbas front line. Ukrainian soldiers on the ground say they are critically lacking manpower, ammunition, and military equipment, making the defense of Ukrainian-held cities more difficult than ever. Marchenko said that the disbursement of U.S. military aid has been "slow," more than three months after Congress approved $27 billion worth of direct military aid for Ukraine. This included $13.8 billion for Ukraine to buy advanced weapons and another $13.8 billion to purchase U.S. defense systems.Marchenko elaborated that the Western military aid delays forced Ukraine to spend more money at the beginning of 2024 on purchasing necessary ammunition and weapons, leaving less for the end of the year.