NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that the issue of the depletion of ammunition stocks against the background of the war in Ukraine was raised last year. Since that time, Ukraine's allies have begun to increase their production to replenish their stocks and continue to support the Defense Forces.
He said this at a press conference following the meeting of defense ministers of NATO countries in Brussels on February 15.
Journalists asked the NATO Secretary General if he was worried that Ukraine might run out of shells. Stoltenberg did not answer this question directly, but noted that their production is already accelerating. In particular, we are talking about the production of 155-mm artillery shells.
“We're seeing huge losses of shells and have seen it for several months. And that's the reason why we started talking about it last fall. We talked about this problem in various NATO capitals. And now we see that things are moving in the right direction," Stoltenberg said.
He said that the USA, France, Germany, Norway and other allies of Ukraine have already signed contracts for the production of artillery ammunition. It is partly possible to increase production based on the capabilities of existing enterprises. But you also need to make new investments, which take more time, says Stoltenberg. According to him, both that and that are already happening now.
The allies are also discussing joint procurement to place large orders with manufacturers.
“So things happen. But we must continue to do even more, because there is a great need to provide shells to Ukraine. This war is becoming a war of attrition, and this, in turn, is a war of logistics. That is why it is so important to make sure that Ukraine will win, return the territories and launch a counteroffensive," Stoltenberg said.
