Due to the high intensity of the use of artillery, Russia is forced to use shells manufactured more than 40 years ago, which have a high failure rate.
As Reuters reports, a high-ranking official of the US Defense Ministry said this at a briefing on Monday.
"They (Russia) have taken munitions from obsolete stockpiles, which shows that they are ready to use these old munitions, some of which were made more than 40 years ago," he said on condition of anonymity.
According to Pentagon estimates, provided the same intensity of fire and the absence of supplies from other countries - in particular, Iran and North Korea - Russia will exhaust all suitable ammunition by the beginning of 2023.
"We assess this based on the intensity of fire with which Russia is using its artillery and missile munitions at the angle of what we call fully serviceable artillery and missile munitions," the official said.
He noted that Russia's use of old stockpiles carries certain risks: "In other words, you load the ammunition, cross your fingers and hope that it fires, or when it lands, that it explodes."
In early December, US National Intelligence Director Euryl Haynes said that Russian forces in Ukraine have suffered a series of setbacks, from morale problems to a shortage of ammunition, in particular, the rate of use of the latter in Russia is greater than the rate of production.