Ukrainian soldiers credit the arrival of modern Western weapons for a sharp fall in Russia's attacks.
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"'That's all because of the artillery you've given us - because of its accuracy,' said Bereza. 'Before, Russia had 50 gun barrels for every one we had. Now it's more like five to one. Their advantage is now insignificant. You could call it parity.'
But Bereza, like Dmitro, emphasised that Ukraine needed far more Western weaponry in order to launch an effective counter-offensive."
You destroyed 10x their artillery in the month since Luhansk fell with the less than 100 units all countries have given you? That's hard to believe.
"Here's a simple trick," shouted a burly figure, lying on a dirt track and aiming his rifle, surrounded by forty attentive Ukrainian soldiers.
"'Bring your leg up like this,' said the man, a former British paratrooper, who was part of a private group offering support to a Ukrainian brigade that had recently arrived to reinforce the frontlines.
The Ukrainians were all volunteers, and had only had a couple of months basic training. Their commanders had reached an informal agreement with the Western trainers, for a five-day course.
'Of course, it's scary. I've not seen war before,' said the unit's 22-year-old commander, a lawyer, who asked that we not use his name."
A bunch of volunteers and conscripts led by a 22 year old lawyer.
"'Worrying is the fact that these guys… lack the basic soldiering skills that the West is used to,' said another trainer, Rob, a former US marine.
'It's ridiculous. But these guys have lost so many people that they just don't have [enough Ukrainian instructors],' he said. 'The West needs to plan for that now.'"
The independent assessment doesn't seem as rosy as Dmitro.
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