The European Union cannot produce artillery shells in the quantity it promised to Ukraine. Maybe we are facing a shelling famine again.
According to the research of the journalistic consortium, European manufacturers can produce significantly fewer shells than the official representatives of the EU claim. For example, the production capacity of the EU is estimated at about 600,000 shells per year, which is significantly less than the declared 1.7 million shells per year by the end of 2024.
"I think there are maybe only a few countries in Europe that have a 30-day stockpile of 155mm shells," Estonian Defense Ministry Permanent Secretary Kusti Salm said in comments to Delfi Estonia.
The fact that the EU is not keeping up with Ukraine's defense needs seems obvious even to representatives of the European arms industry.
"The experience of the war in Ukraine shows a huge demand for artillery ammunition. The available production capacity in the Western world does not correspond to these volumes," one of the leading European arms manufacturers, Rheinmetall, said in June.
This shortage of shells is causing delays in deliveries to Ukraine, which is in an active conflict with Russia. Ukraine appeals to the EU for support, but promises to supply shells are often not fulfilled due to technical and organizational problems in the European arms industry.
"I think that some of the programs are incomplete, not because someone didn't want to, but because internal discussions are taking place - who makes them, who pays whom, whether all the obligations to put money into the "common fund" have been fulfilled. Someone says, "I gave everything, compensate me," or some country is blocking everything," said Oleksiy Reznikov.
Despite this, Ukraine is increasing its own efforts to produce 155 mm artillery shells to meet its own needs. For example, it is planned to launch its own serial production of these shells, which will allow the country to increase its self-sufficiency in this strategically important industry.
According to the Ministry of Strategy and Industry, Ukrainian arms companies have agreed with two unnamed American firms and one European firm, Rheinmetall, on the joint production of 155-mm shells.
After the start of a full-scale war, Ukraine began mass production of Soviet-caliber ammunition for the first time since independence, and since then has reached a capacity of several tens of thousands of shells per month.
