Ukraine has warned its allies that it is facing a critical shortage of artillery shells as Russia deploys three times its firepower on the front lines every day.
Ukraine's MOD chief Umierov asks the EU for artillery shells
Defense Minister Rustem Umierov wrote this week to his European Union counterparts, describing the overwhelming numerical advantage Ukrainian forces face as they try to repel new Russian attacks.
Bloomberg reports this.
Umierov said that Ukraine cannot release more than 2,000 shells per day along the front line, which stretches for 1,500 km, according to a document by Bloomberg. This is less than a third of the ammunition used by Russia.
Ukraine's arms deficit is getting bigger every day, Umierov added and called on his EU allies to do more to fulfil their commitment to delivering a million artillery shells.
He said that Ukraine needs to match the firepower of its enemy.
The side with more ammunition to fight usually wins, Umerov said, according to the document.
How many shells does Ukraine need per month?
On January 31, the EU admitted that it would deliver only half of the promised shells by the March deadline, having decided to offer almost 600,000 more by the end of the year.
Ukraine needs 200,000 155-mm shells per month, the document says. According to Estonia's estimates, the Russian Federation can receive almost twice as many shells, while about a million shells have arrived from North Korea.
A million shells for Ukraine
In March 2023, EU countries agreed to supply Ukraine with one million shells. They wanted to complete the delivery by the end of 2023 and March 2024. However, the transfer will not take place on time, as there is insufficient production capacity for this.
As the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, noted earlier, if Kyiv does not receive the necessary amount of artillery ammunition from one place, it will work to ensure supplies from other sources.
According to the head of the Ministry of Defense of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur, the transfer of the promised million shells is delayed until the end of 2024.
