Armed Forces need quantity of shells that 'no single country can deliver' even US - Ukrainian Minister
Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kamyshin (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
The Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine, Oleksandr Kamyshin, in an interview with The Independent, stated that no country has the amount of ammunition needed by Ukraine to win the artillery war with the Russian Federation, not even the USA.
According to him, since a fierce artillery war is unfolding, Ukraine needs such an amount of ammunition that "no single country can deliver," not even from the United States.
Kamyshin said that Ukraine positions itself as a world pioneer in unmanned technologies, as drones have suddenly become a cornerstone on the most advanced battlefields in Ukraine.
"Domestic production is crucial. We can produce over one million first-person-view (FPV) drones this year plus thousands of drones that can fly over 1,000km, reaching as far as refineries in Russia. This is a game-changer. Our defense tech is really cool, and together with the newly formed force of unmanned drone systems, it will deliver results."
Ammunition for Ukraine
Recently, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, called for a ban on importing ammunition from Europe to other countries except Ukraine. This is due to a severe shortage of ammunition in the Ukrainian army. The Ukrainian Ambassador to the USA, Oksana Markarova, stated that Ukraine faces a "critical shortage" of military equipment, and "we need this support yesterday."
At the end of January 2024, Bloomberg wrote that the European Union could not provide the promised one million shells to Ukraine by the deadline previously stipulated, March 1, 2024. By this time, EU countries will only have accumulated 600 thousand rounds. According to EU Commissioner for Finance Johannes Hahn, the EU will be able to produce up to 2 million artillery shells for Ukraine annually from 2025.
Recall that in March 2023, EU defense and foreign ministers agreed on a plan for joint procurement of ammunition. It provides for the provision of 1 million shells to Ukraine over the next 12 months. In particular, seven countries were mentioned. But in November, the EU informed members that it was unlikely they would be able to transfer the promised 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine. This plan must be implemented by March 2024.
