[ad_1]
Europe is leading the global scramble to find hundreds of thousands of shells for Ukraine, while the world’s only superpower and once Russia’s biggest rival, the United States, takes an unaccustomed back seat. There is.
Germany, Denmark, the Czech Republic, and even geographically outside Europe, Canada, are joining forces with a global coalition aimed at breaking bottlenecks in delivering NATO-standard 155mm howitzer shells and other mainstream munitions to the Ukrainian military. Standing at the forefront of purchasing activities.
Prices will be higher. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a television interview on Sunday that since the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine, the price of artillery shells on the international market has increased fivefold, creating an almost bottomless demand for Ukrainian troops who need to protect themselves and civilians. Unfortunately, he pointed out that major European countries were emptying their shells. Your own ammo stockpile drops to a dangerous level.
“Because of the Ukraine war, when in the early days of the war a regular artillery projectile cost $15,000, now we’re seeing some contracts offering 4,000 to 8,000 shells. That’s war for you.” said Zelenskiy.
During the 24-month battle with Moscow’s forces, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) probably enjoyed an adequate supply of artillery shells only twice, and only for short periods of time. One time was at the beginning of the war, when the AFU fired almost all of its stockpiled shells. The stockpile was consumed within three months in May-June 2023, when the counterattack in the southern sector failed.
Other interesting topics
Ukrainian diaspora holds record-setting “StandWithUkraine” rally
On February 24, 2024, Ukrainian communities and diaspora organizations carried out 1,023 actions in support of Ukraine in 746 cities in 69 countries on all continents of the world, including Antarctica.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s recent defeat, the loss of a fortified city called Advivka, which Kiev’s forces have been defending from Russian attacks since 2014, was a direct result of a severe shortage of artillery shells. If the Russian military is still short on ammunition when it launches its next major offensive, probably in late April or May, the AFU will likely lose even more ground and survive, Ukraine says. the leader said.
Artillery and ammunition are decisive combat weapons in the Russo-Ukrainian war. The Ukrainian leader said more than 31,000 of Kiev’s soldiers have died in fighting since the Russian invasion. More than 90 percent of Ukrainian casualties were caused by mortar and artillery fire, according to Ukrainian officials and medics interviewed by the Kyiv Post. According to recent combat reports, for every shell fired by the Ukrainian army, the Russian army can currently respond with five to 10 shells of its own.
According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, a short-term and partial fix will come in the form of around 170,000 EU-funded shells, which are expected to arrive by the end of March, and talks are underway to increase deliveries. It is said to be in progress. He made the comments on Saturday after a meeting with EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.
The delivery is part of Europe’s commitment to supply Ukraine with one million shells by the end of 2023. The plan was to first ship the shells from existing stocks and then ramp up production in the EU. The deadline for keeping the promise has changed many times, first to March 2024, then to summer 2024, and most recently (as Borrell said in early February) to the end of 2024.
Currently, the EU is actually sending about 300,000 shells to Ukraine, due to delays in the preparation of local manufacturers and the relative priority of production locations and deliveries to Ukraine and other EU ammunition customers. This is due to competition between EU countries over rankings and which EU-based companies should do so. Receive EU loans to increase production capacity.
By most estimates, the AFU needs approximately 2,000 shells per day, or 750,000 shells per year, to defend its positions and have a fighting chance of holding ground, and that much more to sustain a full-on attack. You need twice or even three times as many shells. Broadly speaking, EU deliveries over the past six months have been around 20-30 percent lower than their lows, depending on the exact month.
Including shells to Ukraine. Like the EU, the Pentagon quickly sent in stock shells but was slow to ramp up production. As of the end of December 2023, all U.S. military assistance to Ukraine, including artillery shipments, has ceased due to Congressional disputes over foreign military aid and border policy.
The Financial Times reported in a Feb. 23 article that the Czech Republic could offset slow growth in shell production in the EU by temporarily canceling hopes that European factories might produce, while at the same time helping the U.S. They reported that they had come up with a way to avoid political instability. Just buy seashells and buy them on the world market.
At the Munich Security Conference on February 19, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that the Czech government had discovered “500,000 155mm caliber rounds and 300,000 122mm caliber rounds.If funding is secured soon, they will be delivered within a few weeks.” I can do it.” ”
This short-term fix is mathematically probably enough to keep the Ukrainian military in shells for about 3-6 months, and would cost someone or a few contributors about $1.5 billion. Pavel said.
According to a Sunday article in mainstream German magazine Der Spiegel, India is one of the possible destinations. Diplomats in Berlin are currently in “secret negotiations with diplomats in Delhi over hundreds of thousands of shells stored in India’s arsenal, but Delhi has soured relations with Moscow and “We do not want them to be deported to Ukraine.” Given this situation, Berlin is negotiating the purchase of ammunition through intermediaries. ”
According to mainstream Canadian media reports, Ottawa was one of the first countries to express support for the Czech initiative and pledge cash payments. CBC News reported on February 21 that Canada could contribute up to $30 million, and Defense Minister Bill Blair acknowledged that the Canadian government had discussed the mechanism with Prague and signed a memorandum of understanding. Quoted.
The Czech Ministry of Defense on Friday identified Denmark as another country ready to contribute to the Pavel program, but did not provide specific numbers.
Other than India, the major 155 mm shell manufacturers, excluding European manufacturers that are likely already in full production, include South Africa’s Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM), South Korea’s Punsan Group, and Israel’s Elbit Systems. will appear.
Germany-based Rheinmetall, the EU’s leading shell manufacturer, held a groundbreaking ceremony in early February for a new shell factory in Saxony that will eventually produce 200,000 shells a year. A company statement said the first munitions would begin production in 2025 and reach full production in 2026.
Rheinmetall also plans to open an artillery shell production line in Ukraine, which, if all goes well, could be able to produce 700,000 shells a year by mid-2025, Rheinmetall AG said. CEO Armin Pappelger told German newspaper Handelsblatt.
Following Borrell’s comments, pan-EU annual production capacity will increase to 1.4 million shells by the end of 2024, surpassing that of the United States, which is expected to reach 1.2 million next year, the Financial Times wrote.
Congress has authorized renovations to begin in 2023 at artillery and ammunition plants in Pennsylvania, Iowa, and Texas. Future funding for the U.S. facility improvement plan is currently stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives.
[ad_2]
Source link
