Ukrainian soldier says drone pilots are already running out of supplies, and cuts to US aid will make things worse

• A Ukrainian soldier said it would be "very difficult" to fight without US aid, per CNN.
• His drone unit is targeting Russian troops on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River with shells.
• Biden is meeting Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday to discuss aid to Ukraine.

A Ukrainian soldier says drone pilots are already running out of supplies, and cuts to US aid will make things worse, according to CNN.

"I think it'll be very difficult without American help," an unnamed soldier from the 11th National Guard Samosud Squad told the outlet.

The soldier said his drone unit is already running out of supplies, which he and his comrades are using to target Russian forces on the left bank of the Dnipro River.

His unit is funded by volunteers, per the outlet.

Republicans have been blocking crucial aid to Ukraine, including ammunition, amid a standoff over funding at the US-Mexico border, per Reuters.

A continued GOP blockade in Congress could play directly into Russian president Vladimir Putin's hands as battles on the front lines turn into a stalemate in eastern Ukraine, Business Insider's Paul Squire reported.

Ukrainian soldiers have been engaged in fierce fighting across the Dnipro River to secure a foothold on the eastern bank, which has come at a great cost.

Meanwhile, in Avdiivka, on the front line in eastern Ukraine, the lack of US-provided artillery ammunition has already been felt, Sergeant Taras "Fizruk" from the 47th Mechanized Brigade told The Times of London last Friday.

The 31-year-old mortar gunner told the newspaper that he stopped shelling small Russian units of two or three soldiers on the northern flank of Avdviivka in eastern Ukraine because his brigade was running out of US-provided shells.

"We should be controlling our sector from 4km away, so we can kill a few hundred Russian soldiers before they get to our infantry, and we only take a few wounded," he told the newspaper, adding: "But without ammunition, we can't."

Last week, President Joe Biden sought to break the deadlock in Congress with a $111 billion assistance package to Ukraine and Israel but failed as all Republican Senators and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont opposed it, per Reuters.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Biden are set to meet in the White House on Tuesday to discuss "Ukraine's urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States' continued support at this critical moment," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on Sunday, per NBC News.