On January 23, it was officially announced that NATO has already signed contracts for the purchase of about 220,000 155 mm artillery ammunition worth $1.2 billion.
NATO is ready to help Ukraine with ammunition
The press service reports that the contracts were signed by the Director General of the NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA), Stacey Cummings, in the presence of the Secretary General of the Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg.
According to the Secretary-General, this confirms that the proven structure of the joint procurement block is working.
Russia's war in Ukraine has become a battle for ammunition. Therefore, it is important that the allies replenish their stocks, as we continue to support Ukraine, Jens Stoltenberg emphasised.
He also noted that NATO constantly pushed member countries to overcome protectionist tendencies and agree on a single standard of artillery ammunition to increase their production.
It is also essential to understand that after the Alliance leaders agreed to the NATO Defense Production Action Plan in July 2023, the NSPA awarded about $10 billion in ammunition contracts.
What is the problem of supplying shells to Ukraine
International partners have faced difficulties trying to meet their targets for providing ammunition to Ukraine.
Official Brussels claimed it could deliver a million artillery shells by March 2024.
However, only "480,000 have been delivered or are on the conveyor", as the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, recently reported.
The US has provided Ukraine with over two million 155mm artillery shells since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion. But their stocks were also depleted, so last summer they decided to send cluster munitions to Ukraine.
