The West is failing to catch up to Russia's production of the most basic unit of war for the past half-millennium — gunpowder. The modern propellants and explosives that power war have largely been offshored. While Western manufacturers are churning out shell casings, they are short on the materials to fill
"The capabilities of Putin's war machine are speeding up, not slowing down," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said.
Illegal arms transfers "contributed to Moscow's ability to increase its missile attacks against Ukrainian cities including targeted strikes against critical civilian infrastructure," according to a report from the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team.
"We have formed a working group, together with Russian partners, to establish the facts... we work only for Serbia," Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said.
Under the agreement, Finland will provide 90 million euros (approximately $100 million) worth of heavy ammunition procured from domestic suppliers.
The package includes additional artillery and shells via the Czech ammunition initiative as well as equipment for fighter jets and funds for expanded training, the Danish Defense Ministry announced.
Czech Defense Minister Jana Cernochova reiterated that the initiative already supplied 1.5 million rounds of various calibers in 2024 and has enough funds to continue until this fall.
According to Ukrainian defense media outlet Militarnyi, the facility in question is Russia's 51st Arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate – one of Russia's largest weapons arsenals.
BAE’s new facility in Glascoed, South Wales, set to open this summer, will deliver a 16-fold increase in 155 mm shell production compared to pre-Russia-Ukraine war levels.
"I'm happy to see we already have two-thirds of my ammunition initiative together," Kaja Kallas told reporters ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg, referring to an initiative to provide Ukraine with 2 million high-caliber rounds worth 5 billion euros ($5.7 billion).
The Netherlands is allocating 150 million euros ($170 million) to boost Ukraine's air defenses, while Lithuania intends to allocate 20 million euros ($23 million) for ammunition purchases, the two countries' defense ministers said on April 11.
Russian soldiers used to fire around 40,000 rounds of ammunition daily, but a series of long-range attacks reduced this number to around 23,000, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said.
"We are now strengthening our cooperation with the EU to provide Ukraine with, among other things, more artillery ammunition. Europe must assume greater responsibility for supporting Ukraine in its fight for freedom," said Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Key developments on April 3: * Russia plans to increase grouping in Ukraine by 150,000 troops in 2025, Ukrainian official says * US defense secretary to skip Ramstein summit for the first time, media reports * NATO assets may be used for peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, FT reports * 'Coalition of the Willing'
The initiative, backed by contributions from Canada, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark, and other European countries, has significantly boosted Ukraine's artillery capabilities, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
Kallas's statement comes after EU leaders decided at a summit in Brussels on March 20 to help cover Ukraine's ammunition needs through aid packages announced by individual countries over the past month.
The EU is working on providing Ukraine with 5 billion euros ($5.4 billion) for ammunition, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said on March 20, as a much larger 40-billion-euro ($43 billion) package still lacks consensus.
The Russian-made Kalashnikov still prevails as the main small arm in Ukraine’s military. A Czech weapons giant is setting up shop in Ukraine’s factories to change that. The Prague-domiciled conglomerate, Colt CZ, has set up assembly of its Bren 2 assault rifles inside Ukraine under the name “Sich”
The explosion occurred at 4:20 p.m. local time on Jan. 30, starting a large fire that spread to about 2,000 square meters. The cause of the incident is currently under investigation, Spanish authorities said.
Key developments on Jan. 20: * Commander of scandal-hit Ukrainian brigade detained, accused of failing to report desertions * Ammunition used by Russians halved following Ukrainian strikes, Syrskyi says * Ukraine Air Force specialists safe from transfer to infantry but mobilization issues remain, Syrskyi says * 'I didn't know who I'd be fighting' — North
"For several months now, the artillery ammunition expenditure rates in the Russian army have practically halved. If previously the figure reached up to 40,000 rounds per day, it is now significantly lower," Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi said on Jan. 19.
"(The depot) was used by the enemy to supply its troops in the Kramatorsk sector (in Donetsk Oblast). Now the Russians have logistical difficulties, which significantly affect their ability to conduct combat operations," a source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said.
North Korea appears to be preparing to supply more arms to Russia on top of some 20,000 containers it had already sent, the Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 23 based on its analysis of satellite images.
Launched in October 2022, the European Union Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM) has already trained approximately 60,000 Ukrainian troops as of August 2024, primarily in Germany and Poland.
"There were thousands of ammunition rounds for armored personnel carriers, tanks, anti-tank guided missiles, mines, grenades, and millions of rounds of ammunition of various calibers," the SBU source said.
Russia's artillery advantage against Ukraine has dropped to 1.5 rounds per Ukrainian shell, down from a previous ratio of five to one, officials told Sky News.
The European Union has delivered 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine, fulfilling the pledge it initially promised to deliver by the spring of 2024, the EU’s new top diplomat Kaja Kallas told the Kyiv Independent on the sidelines of her visit to Kyiv.
Out of 54,000 120 mm mortar shells suspected of having defects, about 24,000 are to be withdrawn, Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin said on Nov. 28.
The statement comes amid mounting complaints and videos shared on social media that show the mortar shells not exploding or failing to hit their targets.
Poland has signed a letter of intent with domestic companies to begin producing nitrocellulose and multi-base powders essential for ammunition manufacturing, according to a Polish government report published on Nov. 18.
South Korea did not provide artillery shells of its own production, nor did it make financial contributions to the purchase of shells from other countries under the Czech initiative to purchase ammunition for Ukraine from third countries.
Throughout 2024, the European Union has delivered 980,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the one million initially promised, the European Union's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Nov. 11.
(Updated: )
