Ukraine will soon step up its production of shells by involving private companies in the process, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksii Danilov said on Oct. 26.
"They (the companies) have ordered the appropriate equipment, some equipment is already being installed in closed areas of enterprises, and we will see an increase in our own production in the near future," Danilov said on national television.
The official emphasized that not only Ukraine but its allies, as well as Russia, were suffering from ammunition shortages.
"Our partners, the entire civilized world, began to develop additional (production) capacities right from the beginning of this aggression, from April-May 2022. This is not an easy task, they cannot be built in a month or two," he said.
Nate Ostiller
According to Danilov, it's challenging to determine the exact amount of shells needed for the Ukrainian army as "there has not been a war of such intensity since WWII."
His statement comes a day after unnamed sources told Bloomberg that the European Union was falling short of its target of providing Ukraine with one million rounds of artillery shells by March.
The EU pledged in May to deliver one million shells per year to Ukraine, partially by digging deep into its existing stockpiles but also by increasing domestic production capacity.
However, now that six months have passed, only 30% of the promised shells have been delivered, the sources said. At this slowed rate, the EU risks failing to meet its target.
Francis Farrell
