U.S. to double artillery shell production for Ukraine and General Staff to establish new military branch - Tuesday brief
Collage by RBC-Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed the Cabinet of Ministers and the General Staff to create within the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate entity. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army intends to double the production of artillery shells used in Ukraine by October of this year.
For more details on what happened on Tuesday, February 6, read RBC-Ukraine's material.
Russia's war against Ukraine
- Drone attack reported in Russian Belgorod: Several buildings damaged;
- Russians strike hotel in Kharkiv region: Three injured, two-month-old baby killed;
- Ukraine disables one-third of Russia's Black Sea fleet;
- Guerrillas find out S-400 air defense system coordinates in Moscow.
Ukraine to establish new military branch: Zelenskyy instructs government and General Staff
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has instructed the Cabinet of Ministers and the General Staff to create within the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine the Unmanned Systems Forces as a separate entity, according to the president's decree.
The creation of the Unmanned Systems Forces is necessary to enhance the capabilities of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
"The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, with the involvement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is tasked with considering the issue of creating the Forces of Unmanned Systems within the structure of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as a separate branch of forces and, based on the results of the consideration, submitting relevant proposals for consideration by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine," the decree No. 51/2024 states.
Leopard 2 tanks, Marder IFVs, and more: Rheinmetall announces planned aid to Ukraine
The German defense conglomerate Rheinmetall is supplying the Ukrainian military with a significant amount of military equipment. Tanks, IFVs, artillery ammunition, and more are planned for delivery over the next two years, according to Rheinmetall's page.
The tens of thousands of 155mm ammunition rounds will arrive in 2024. In December 2023, the German government also ordered Rheinmetall to deliver several tens of thousands of rounds in 2025.
In addition to Germany, another NATO member state has tasked Rheinmetall with supplying Ukraine with a large quantity of 155mm ammunition. The ammunition will be produced by the Spanish company Rheinmetall Expal Munitions and is expected to be delivered in 2025.
U.S. plans to double artillery shell production for transfer to Ukraine
The U.S. Army intends to double the production of artillery shells used in Ukraine by October of this year, according to Doug Bush, the chief of the U.S. Army's acquisition office.
Production of 155mm artillery shells in the U.S. is expected to increase from 28,000 last October - the last month for which exact numbers were published - to about 37,000 in April and about 60,000 in October 2024. The Army hopes to rapidly increase production in 2025, from just under 75,000 shells in April to 100,000 in October.
That planned increase is partly due to a new factory the Army is building in Texas, which will "have an entirely new way of making the shell, using entirely new tech we've never used before," Bush says.
Verkhovna Rada extended martial law and mobilization in Ukraine: Details
The Verkhovna Rada has extended the martial law and general mobilization in Ukraine for another three months. This legal regime will remain in effect at least until May 13, 2024, according to MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak from the Holos party faction.
Thus, today, the parliamentarians passed bill No. 10456 on the extension of martial law and bill No. 10457 on the extension of the duration of general mobilization. They were submitted to the Rada by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
This special regime has been extended for the tenth time since the start of full-scale war.
Russia's purchase price for Iranian Shahed-136 drones revealed
The Russian Federation was purchasing Iranian Shahed drones at a lower cost than previously thought, reports ICNA.
The email servers of the Iranian company IRGC Sahara Thunder were hacked by a group of hackers called Prana Network. The servers contained data regarding the production of Shahed-136 strike drones for Russia.
The documents did not explicitly specify the type of product being manufactured. However, the drones were referred to under a special code name as Dolphin 632-type motor boats.
The papers indicated that as of 2022, Russia planned to produce 6000 Iranian drones within its facilities over 2.5 years.
Initially, Iran declared that the starting price for one drone was 23 million rubles (approximately 375 thousand dollars). However, during negotiations, the parties agreed on a price of 12 million rubles per drone for 6000 units (193 thousand dollars) and 18 million rubles (290 thousand dollars) for an order of 2000 units.
From this, it follows that the total production cost of 6000 sets of UAVs amounts to 108.5 billion rubles (1.75 billion dollars). This sum includes the transfer of technology, equipment, and software.
