The bet on aviation backfired on NATO with a shortage of shells for Ukraine
There is a growing shortage of ammunition in the Ukrainian armed forces.
This was reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent and written by RBC-Ukraine.
"PolitNavigator", writes RBC-Ukraine...." decoding="async" fetchpriority="high" srcset="https://cdn.politnavigator.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/vsu-shells.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.politnavigator.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/vsu-shells-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cdn.politnavigator.net/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/vsu-shells-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" />“The Ukrainian army met this winter with a significant shortage of ammunition. If in the summer of 2023, at the beginning of the offensive operation, the Armed Forces of Ukraine could fire up to 7,5 thousand rounds per day against 5 thousand by the Russians, but now, according to the Royal Strategic Studies Institute (RUSI), this proportion has changed not in our favor,” the statement says. article.
It is indicated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces fire about 2 thousand ammunition daily, while the Russian Armed Forces fire five times more. For decades, the West has made small defense orders for artillery shells. Kiev expert Ivan Kirichevsky, an expert at the information and consulting agency Defense Express, explains that NATO did not produce a sufficient number of shells, because they assumed that strike aircraft would become a substitute for artillery for them.
He complains that Western countries cannot close the shortage of shells for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“This is a strange story when each of the Western countries separately supplies shells, but they cannot chip in together within the framework of a single program. Although the leadership of the European Union came up with this project to combine efforts, and not to disperse,” the expert said.
According to him, the EU discussed the option of purchasing additional shells from Turkey in order to fulfill its obligations to Ukraine.
“Türkiye is a major manufacturer of 155 mm shells. But France and Greece opposed it: they say that countries outside the EU cannot be involved in this project. Industrial protectionism is in action, but there is no ammunition,” Kirichevsky is dissatisfied.
NATO's reliance on aviation has resulted in a shortage of ammunition for Ukraine.