Tens of thousands of artillery shells were purchased and sent to the Ukrainian army. Total value: $1.2 billion (equal to 1.1 billion euros). NATO announced this on Tuesday, January 23, in connection with a recently signed order. According to a source close to the Atlantic Alliance, approximately 220 thousand bullets in total are being purchased. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “Russia’s war in Ukraine has turned into an ammunition war” and called on member countries to “sign” contracts to increase their production. Ukrainian news site last week Economichna Pravda He had analyzed the weapons provided by Kiev’s allies and recalculated the costs and the number of tanks, shells and military equipment supplied so far. If the United States, led by Joe Biden, declares itself the main ally of the Ukrainian people, the numbers tell a more nuanced truth.
Billionaire contracts signed by Allies
Thousands of bullets are fired every day into Ukraine, whose army has been suffering from ammunition and man shortages since this winter. Therefore, NATO is trying to strengthen its stockpiles to provide more assistance to Kiev. Purchase speed varies depending on country. At the beginning of January, Germany and Spain signed a contract for the purchase of up to a thousand Patriot missiles useful for anti-aircraft defense. Estimated value: approximately 5 billion euros. In 2023, a 2.4 billion euro contract was signed with the NATO Armed Forces Supply and Support Agency (Nspa) to purchase howitzers (intermediate artillery piece between cannon and mortar, ed.) and shells for 155 mm tanks.
Threat of out of stock
As of October 2023, partner countries had given or promised to give $100 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine. According to an analysis by Economichna PravdaThis figure includes air defense systems, tanks and other heavy weapons, as well as less visible but equally indispensable elements such as electronic warfare systems and projectiles. But negotiating new arms supplies to Ukraine is becoming increasingly difficult due to accusations of “stock outs” that Admiral Rob Bauer, head of the NATO Military Committee, mentioned last fall. Not all states agree there is a real challenge. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked the bloc countries to inspect the weapons supplied to Ukraine and said that the supplies planned for this year by most of the 27-nation bloc were insufficient. The European Commission believes that some countries may supply more weapons to the Ukrainians.
Supply of weapons to Ukraine
Since the beginning of the conflict, the Kiel Institute has been collecting data on the stocks of tanks, howitzers and rocket launchers that NATO and EU countries can transfer to Ukraine. However, aircraft, transferred missiles or air/missile defense complexes are not included. At the beginning of 2022, the arsenals of NATO/EU countries included more than 15 thousand tanks, approximately 7 thousand 155/152 mm howitzers and 1,600 Multiple Barrel Rocket Systems (MLRS), which are multi-barreled artillery systems. From the beginning of Russia’s invasion until the end of October 2023, Ukraine will receive from the Allies 5.2% of available tanks, 8.9% of howitzers and 5.9% of MLRS systems available to its allies.
loyal partners
In this context, according to the definition of the Ukrainian media, the “most loyal partners” are the Baltic countries. Despite their smaller territorial and economic size, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have so far been the countries most supportive of Ukraine in terms of percentage of GDP. Scandinavian countries are behind this special ranking; Their economies are larger than the Baltic countries and they stand out in terms of the amount and percentage of aid given to Ukraine. Among the reasons for this military “solidarity” there is one decisive factor: proximity to Russia raises fears that the Kremlin could extend its aggression to its territories. What about the United States? The world’s largest economy spends less than 0.2% of GDP on aid to Ukraine. But the support is still overwhelming, given that Washington has provided $44 billion in military aid since February 24, 2022 and is Kiev’s main donor. In any case, the potential it can provide is far from exhausted.
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.
