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Out of 54,000 120 mm mortar shells suspected of having defects, about 24,000 are to be withdrawn, Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin said on Nov. 28.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.
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.
The fire broke out at 1:30 p.m. local time in a hydraulic press used for the three-dimensional molding of steel shell casings.
According to the newspaper, around 3 million a year are being shipped from Pyongyang to Moscow, though a large number are believed to be faulty.
Ukraine has received more than one-third of the expected 500,000 rounds of 155-mm shells to be delivered under the Czech initiative by the end of the year, Ukraine's Ambassador to Czechia Vasyl Zvarych said in an interview with CTK news agency published on Oct. 3.
Ukrainian Armor, a private defense enterprise, signed two deals on Oct. 2 with the Czech holding Czechoslovak Group (CSG) to cooperate on the production of 155mm shells, Ukrainian media outlet Militarnyi reported.
The U.S.-based AeroVironment signed an agreement with a Ukrainian company to localize its production of Switchblade 600 loitering munitions, marking the latest of several recent agreements between Ukrainian and foreign companies to produce weaponry in Ukraine.
French-German defense company KNDS has opened an office in Kyiv to support Ukraine carry out the domestic maintenance and repair of weapons systems, the company announced on Oct. 1.
A few issues have been reported with some of the artillery shells received through the Czech initiative, according to German publication Handelsblatt, which cited a letter from Kyiv to Prague. Czechia unveiled the international initiative earlier this year amid Ukraine's shell shortages caused largely by delays in U.S. assistance.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited a Pennsylvania ammunition factory under tight security on Sept. 22 to personally thank the workers producing some of the most crucial munitions for Ukraine’s defense against Russian forces.
President Volodymyr Zelensky will visit the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, a factory producing critically-need 155 mm shells for Ukraine, during his visit to the United States on Sept. 22.
The Ukrainian drone strike on the arms depot in Russia's Tver Oblast destroyed two to three months' worth of munitions, Estonian Colonel Ants Kiviselg, head of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, said on Sept. 20.
Artillery ammunition manufactured in India is being diverted to Ukraine "despite protests from Moscow," Reuters reported on Sept. 19, citing customs data and nearly a dozen Indian and European government and defense industry officials.
Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski confirmed that Warsaw has not yet participated in the project due to "temporary formal obstacles."
Ukraine already produces its own 155 mm artillery ammunition, said Oleksandr Kamyshin, newly appointed advisor to the President of Ukraine on strategic issues.
The Prague-led ammunition initiative is delivering supplies to Ukraine on schedule, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Aug. 29.
The Scranton plant has upped its output of 155 mm shells from 24,000 rounds per month to 36,000, with the modernization elements likely to contribute to a further increase, factory officials said.
The Norwegian government will provide Kyiv with its defense technology and finance the production of 155-millimeter artillery shells developed by the Nammo (Nordic Ammunition Company) in Ukraine, according to its Aug. 23 statement.
Warsaw ordered 50,000 155-millimeter shells from the South African company Denel Munition, a subsidiary of the German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, in which it holds a 51% stake.
The EU's promises to deliver 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine were not met due to "wishful thinking" and the fact that existing stocks may be "at least twice as modest as stated by high-ranking EU officials," RFE/RL Schemes investigative project reported on July 8.
A total of 50,000 shells are the first batch of 180,000 rounds of ammunition financed by Germany, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Key developments on June 25: * International Criminal Court issues arrest warrants for Russia's Shoigu, Gerasimov * Czech PM confirms Ukraine received first batch of shells under Prague-led initiative * European Court of Human Rights finds Russia guilty of violating human rights in occupied Crimea * Ukraine brings back 90 POWs from Russian captivity
New internal Russian trade data obtained by the Washington Post shows that Russia may have received 1.6 million artillery shells from North Korea over the course of six months.
The European Union has accelerated its production of projectiles and will match Russia's production capacity in 2025, EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an interview with French news outlet La Tribune on June 14.
The Dutch Defense Ministry announced it will contribute to the IFU's initiative, but it has not revealed the number of shells to be delivered due to security concerns.
To provide Ukraine with 1.5 million of shells this year, 1.7 billion euros ($1.8 billion) will be needed, said Tomas Kopecny, the Czech envoy for Ukraine's reconstruction.
The new factory in Mesquite will produce 30,000 each month once it reaches its full capacity, according to the New York Times.
A total of 15 EU countries and NATO have already allocated more than 1.6 billion euros ($1.7 million) for the effort, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said.
Using publicly available data, consulting firm Bain & Company claims that Russian factories can produce or refurbish 4.5 million 152 mm shells for $1,000 per round this year. European countries and the U.S. are only expected to produce 1.3 million 155 mm shells combined at an average cost of $4,000 per unit.
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