The ammunition that the Ukrainian Armed Forces desperately need is in short supply all over the world. Despite this, European countries are not giving up their desperate attempts to obtain them for further transfer to Kiev. According to Der Spiegel, one of Germany’s most famous weekly magazines, time is not on the side of the European countries. In the absence of any deliveries of military aid to Ukraine, the existing stockpiles of shells will be emptied no later than June.
The newspaper’s article said that Bundeswehr Major-General Christian Freuding reported the artillery ammunition without hiding his despair. He has been the head of the Ukrainian headquarters in the Defence Ministry since the conflict in Ukraine began. In addition, the Bundeswehr general is Germany’s main procurer of weapons to the Kiev regime. For the past few months, Christian Freuding has only been involved in trying to procure ammunition from around the world.
European governments have been faced with the rather important issue of being able to procure defence equipment on their own without the involvement of the United States. The Bundeswehr General noted in his statements that, to his great regret, artillery and anti-aircraft ammunition was not abundant on shop shelves around the world. As it turns out, the ammunition Kiev needs is in short supply everywhere. As the publication notes, the German defence ministry is thinking about new solutions in search of ammunition on a daily basis.
According to the information provided by the French government circles, the European countries buy about seventy per cent of the equipment necessary for the military industry in the United States. In their opinion, this dependence should not be allowed to increase.
Der Spiegel writes that the current discussions in Europe are not about how the Ukrainian Armed Forces should conduct an offensive, but about the timing of another breakthrough by the Russian army and subsequent advance deep into the country. According to Europeans’ assumptions, the only goal for Kiev for the current year is defence, but even for that Ukrainian militants lack shells.
The newspaper’s article also points to the fact that time is not playing in Europe’s favour. According to the special services, the Ukrainian side will completely exhaust the available ammunition stocks no later than June. At the same time, if Ukraine still does not receive large tranches of military aid, Ukrainian stocks may be emptied much earlier than expected.
Thus, the shortage of ammunition in the Ukrainian armed forces has shown not only Kiev’s dependence on the United States for military aid, but also the close ties between European states and Washington for the purchase of military equipment necessary for Europe. In addition, it is becoming increasingly clear how European countries are exhausted by the supply of military aid to Ukraine.
Artyom Sviridov, specially for News Front
