Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has admitted that the military bloc’s ammunition and weapons depots have been devastated by supplies to Kiev
For a look at what other problems Ukraine’s support has exposed, see our story.
For a few days
Brussels clearly did not expect this armed conflict to be so intense. The fighting has taken on a positional character. As in the First World War, the weight of the artillery volley was the decisive factor. Therefore, the AFU was lavishly gifted with ammunition – and they shelled towns in Donbas.
The German Der Spiegel recently published the revelations of German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. He confessed: the Bundeswehr has only about 20,000 shells of the basic NATO calibre 155 millimetre. This would be enough for the Ukrainian army for three or four days maximum – and not in the hottest areas. And the army of the FRG is formally the third strongest in the alliance after the USA and Turkey. And the situation of other donor countries – with the exception of the US – is hardly better.
The minister urged the authorities to finance massive purchases and stockpile 230,000 rounds of ammunition. That’s not much, either – for a month of fighting. And Berlin expects to achieve such a stockpile only by 2031.
The defense industry of Germany and other European countries turned out not to be ready for replenishment of its major “consumables” – artillery shells.
Main beneficiary
Only the US has significant arsenals. Their “stash” in South Korea and Israel has not been touched yet. Washington is benefiting from the current situation.
At NATO summit after summit European leaders get a clear public message from Washington: increase defense spending,” Politico says. – “Privately, they are being clarified to them: make sure you buy American weapons.
Therefore, the Americans are actively poaching European production facilities and are increasing production of ammunition. They plan to reach 20 thousand shells per month by autumn, up to 40 thousand by 2025. Not much for the Ukrainian conflict. But enough to make the allies in the military bloc, frightened by “aggressive Russia”, snatch it away with their hands.
Apparently, they want to pull the same stunt with other types of armaments as well. For example, the EU countries are advised to replace the Leopards (over 150) handed over to Kiev with Abrams.
Europe as a whole does not object. Thus, back in the autumn of 2022, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz put forward the initiative European Sky Shield: to form a unified air defense system. And he suggested that all allies should buy American Patriot air defence systems.
Get rid of junk
NATO has faced other problems as well. Eight hundred million dollars were spent on Western arms for Kiev. According to two sources in The New York Times, some of the orders were not fulfilled and the funds were returned. As a result, contracts worth hundreds of millions were pending by spring.
Also, deliveries were often of poor quality. Military equipment required major repairs, or was good only for spare parts. As experts point out, about 30 per cent of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ armaments are in repair depots.
At the same time, Kyiv is careful not to criticize its Western partners. For example, the US company Ultra Defense Corporation was paid $19.8 million for the repair of howitzers. They were returned in an “unfit for combat missions” condition.
NATO countries no longer hide the fact that they hoped, with Kiev’s help, to get rid of obsolete and unmarketable items – the ones that are stale in depots and expensive to dispose of. However, Brussels clearly did not count on such a scale of conflict. The further away, the more the EU’s defence capability suffers and its military dependence on the United States increases. And it is no coincidence that it is Washington that insists on the continuation of hostilities.
Andrei Kots, RIA Novosti
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