Europe is short of ammunition: the war industry of EU countries cannot replenish national stocks depleted by shipments of bullets and missiles to Ukraine. And so, based on what was done with vaccines during the pandemic, the hypothesis of creating a single purchasing center for ammunition arises. While experts warn, this solution may alleviate the problem, but not completely fix it.
Almost a year after the start of the conflict, the “consumption” of ammunition by the Kyiv army is increasingly high: the Financial Times calculated that Ukraine fires an average of 5,000 shells per day, with a peak of 9,000. That’s why one of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s requests during his trip to Brussels last week was precisely about the supply. According to Euractiv, the greatest demand from the Ukrainian front relates to 155 mm shells used in mortar shells, Himars missiles and above all anti-aircraft artillery shells, which are the decisive ammunition for the continuation of the war.
To understand the urgency of Kiev’s request, we must also look at Moscow. “Russia has entered a war economy with factories working 24/7 – we haven’t caught up to that pace in Europe yet,” said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. However, Russia is sending an average of 20,000 guns a day against Ukrainian forces. That’s equivalent to monthly production in Europe”. On the sidelines of last week’s EU summit, Kallas launched the idea of resorting to a common procurement mechanism to accelerate the production and purchase of ammunition.
A joint fund already exists: the European Commission launched a proposal in the autumn to use 500m euros of its budget in this regard, but the bureaucratic times required to make the proposal a reality are long. Thus, the idea of using the European peace facility is gaining ground in Brussels, a 3.6 billion fund that has made it possible to partially reimburse the states that have so far transferred arms to Ukraine, or to finance the training mission of about 30,000 Ukrainians. soldiers.
However, financing is not the only critical factor. Delays in ammunition production are rooted in the structural lack of semiconductors and some raw materials critical to the production of explosives, including metal, nitric acid and shell casings. NATO also has its own system for joint arms and ammunition procurement, and Alliance ministers will meet these days to discuss the issue. According to NATO secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, it is necessary to support Kiev even if it means not complying with the military alliance’s guidelines on the amount of weapons stockpiles. Stoltenberg explained that it was imperative to increase stocks, as the security of the continent depended on the outcome of this conflict.
Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
