Press
Russia far outperforms Ukraine when it comes to ammunition. This means that the question of help from the USA remains crucial.
Moscow/Kiev – Russia produces almost three times as much ammunition as the USA and European Ukraine supporters combined. That reports CNN and relies on secret NATO information about Russian production of defense equipment. Russia can produce 3 million pieces of artillery ammunition within a year, while the US and EU together can only provide about 1.2 million to Kiev annually, a senior intelligence official said CNN.
A NATO official described the situation to CNN even as a “production war”. The outcome depends on the armament capability of the two parties in the Ukraine war. Moscow operates its artillery factories around the clock. According to several officials, this means that the country cannot meet its own needs at all, but it is still far beyond Ukraine's capacity.
Lack of ammunition forces Ukraine to change strategy – Russia benefits
Meanwhile, Russia has also received support: According to the South Korean defense minister, North Korea has shipped millions of dollars in ammunition to Russia since last July, quoted Reuters South Korean media reports. According to the minister, there could be more than 3 million 152-millimeter artillery shells or 500,000 122-millimeter cartridges. In return, North Korea received 9,000 containers, mostly containing food. According to the minister, the latter would help to stabilize prices there.
Ukraine has been waiting for new military aid from the USA for months. US experts have said loudly dpa warned of a sudden breakthrough by the Russian military. A report by the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) shows that the Ukrainian armed forces are trying to prioritize sectors of the front that are subject to major offensives by Russia when distributing ammunition. This would create weak points elsewhere.
US aid to Ukraine is waning: long-term solutions are still a long way off
The USA is considered Ukraine's most important ally. Since the start of the war, the US government has provided more than $44 billion (around 40 billion euros) in military aid to Kiev, reports dpa. But Ukraine has been waiting for supplies for several months. A blockade by Republicans in the US Congress has so far prevented new aid for Kiev. On Tuesday, the US government announced an emergency aid package with military equipment for Ukraine. However, this is not yet a long-term solution.
Ukraine's ammunition needs have also had an economic impact in Germany: For example, the armaments company “Rheinmetall” has expanded its locations to a new ammunition factory in Lower Saxony, where it plans to produce up to 200,000 artillery shells annually. Rheinmetall is also planning to build a plant to produce artillery ammunition in Ukraine dpa reported. The factory is expected to produce a six-figure number of bullets per year. (ses/dpa)
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