"I've been here for three days, and moved around along the entire front together with volunteers; I've met with troops and officers from around a dozen different fighting brigades, from Kupiansk to Lyman, Bakhmut and the Avdiivka region, and currently I'm on the southern front toward Orikhiv," Mihkelson told ERR.

"In each of these directions, Russian forces now have absolutely massive initiative, massive firepower and massive manpower, which is pushing the Ukrainian front in all of these directions, both to the east and the south," he continued. "Everyone I've spoken to has the message that they're catastrophically short on artillery shells as well as quite a lot of other equipment. And Russia's quantitative force is what's currently very troubling on the front."

According to the Estonian committee chair, many people are very angry about what's currently being said in Europe and the U.S.

"They can see that the West doesn't comprehend the current extremely critical situation in this war, where what's needed is actions, not words," he noted.

"This morning, in one part of the southern front right here, there was such a barrage of Russian artillery fire from 5-8 a.m. that there wasn't even a second of silence," he continued. "Along one part of the front, Russians have a 100:1 advantage in artillery fire. In a situation like that, it's easy to understand why the Ukrainians are questioning what Western powers want to achieve."

The MP also noted that despite the incredibly difficult situation, Ukrainian morale still remains high.

An ambassador, a member of parliament, and some cool people walk into a bar... except #RussiaInvadedUkraine.@Pete_Hasta met up with @Harri_Est and @Dmitro7607 from @1team1fight_org along with @JimmySecUK, @markomihkelson, and H.E. @AnnelyKolk from

Thank you so much for the… pic.twitter.com/YaEvqWvjVT

— Project Konstantin (@KonstantinTeam) February 27, 2024

Commenting on French President Emmanuel Macron's recent statement about how the deployment of Western troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out, Mihkelson described Macron's words as ill-considered rhetoric.

"Talk regarding whether to send ground troops to Ukraine should first and foremost be worked out among ourselves, and not argued publicly," he said. "This isn't exactly the best rhetoric at a time when Ukraine needs actual military support in order to curb Russian pressure."

The Riigikogu committee chair acknowledged that he can't imagine the West would be prepared to agree on this right now.

"At some point Europe has to decide whether we're truly prepared to go into a head-on collision – a military conflict – with Russia or not," Mihkelson underscored.

Mihkelson is currently in Ukraine for an eight-day visit of the worldwide United4Ukraine parliamentary network.

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