Shells supply is not enough: Ukrainian Foreign Minister reveals specific issue
Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukraine has two problems with the supply of ammunition. The first is the quantity and stability of the supply, and the second is that not all shells are suitable for all howitzers, states Dmytro Kuleba, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
"The first thing is the quantity and consistency of supplies. The situation is very bad today, this is not my political assessment, this is a message that we all receive from the front - the president, military advisers, soldiers write from the front - the situation is bad, we need ammunition," the Foreign Minister said.
The second problem, according to Kuleba, is of a specific nature.
"You see, when a decision is made to supply a certain number of shells, say 155 caliber, a political decision is made and 10 thousand shells are delivered, we put a tick and wait for the next batch... But the fact is that all these howitzers and 155 mm cannons were designed for specific types of shells of this caliber, which were produced in a certain country," he said.
As the Foreign Minister explained, it is impossible to use the same shell on all 155-caliber guns.
"Politicians tick a box and get their due for making this supply, but on the ground there is a huge technical problem," Kuleba added.
Shells for Ukraine
In early May 2023, the EU agreed to allocate one billion euros for joint purchases of ammunition for Ukraine. It was planned that the EU countries would provide Ukraine with one million shells by March 2024. But so far, this plan has not been fulfilled.
However, as promised by EU diplomat Josep Borrell, Ukraine will receive more than 1 million artillery shells from European countries by the end of the year.
At the same time, according to European Commissioner for Finance Johannes Hahn, the EU will be able to produce up to 2 million artillery rounds annually for Ukraine starting in 2025.
In addition, speaking in Munich, Czech President Petr Pavel said that Prague had found 800,000 shells that could be sent to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
