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Russia’s war in Ukraine has become a “battle of ammunition,” NATO leaders have warned, with Kiev’s military forced to ration shells due to supply shortages.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday after the NATO alliance signed a 1.1 billion euro deal to procure more ammunition that member states can use to arm themselves. “Increasing ammunition production is absolutely necessary to continue.” To replenish the stocks of the Ukrainian army or their own country.
“In Ukraine we see the consumption of ammunition, and we also see the need. . . We need to increase production,” Stoltenberg added.
His comments came hours after Ukraine came under renewed Russian barrage, and Kiev officials said they had no plans for the Ukrainian military before the U.S. and EU allies finally agreed on more military aid this year. There are growing concerns that the country will run out of ammunition.
Faced with dwindling supplies, front-line Ukrainian soldiers have told the Financial Times in recent days that they have been forced to ration ammunition as Russian forces step up attacks.
“Actually, ammunition is really scarce,” said a senior officer in a Ukrainian artillery brigade.
According to the platoon commander, the Ukrainians were firing 8,000 shells per day during the summer counteroffensive, but in recent weeks that number has dropped to just 2,000.
Oleksandr Tarnavsky, commander of operations in southeastern Ukraine, said in December that the Ukrainian military was facing a shortage of artillery shells due to a lack of military support from Western countries, forcing the curtailment of some operations along the 1,000-kilometer front. He told reporters that he was.
Last spring, EU member states pledged to send 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine, vital to Ukraine’s front-line defense. However, as of late December, Ukrainian authorities announced that only about 300,000 shells had been delivered.
NATO signed a contract on Tuesday for “hundreds of thousands” of 155mm artillery ammunition, which allies will be able to send to Ukraine or replenish their own stocks.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on Western allies, whose help is essential to repelling Russian aggression, to step up not only their offensive capabilities but also the supply of air defense systems.
White House National Security Council Press Secretary John Kirby said Monday that the next few months will be “critically important for Ukraine,” adding that the country’s commanders “don’t know when the next shipment will be and “Difficult decisions must be made about whether to deploy weapons,” he said. coming”.
“It’s a terrible place to station Ukrainian troops,” Kirby warned. “Russia is certainly not suffering under the same uncertainty as it is reaching out to North Korea for ballistic missiles.” .Drones from Iran [continue] We produce it ourselves. ”
President Zelensky’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak posted a video of a house in the northeastern city of Kharkov, City X, which was bombed in a Russian night missile attack, saying Kiev supporters urgently need further military aid approved quickly. He emphasized that.
“The world needs to understand that this terrorism can only be stopped by force,” Yermak wrote.
President Zelenskiy said in a video address Tuesday night that at least 18 people were killed and 130 injured in the airstrikes, which damaged 139 buildings. Rescue workers continued to search for people trapped under rubble in some areas.
Ukrainian military officials said only half of the 41 missiles launched by Russia overnight were intercepted.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said residential buildings were being evacuated after an unexploded warhead was discovered in one of the apartments.
Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed the attack on Tuesday but denied targeting civilians.
