How Russia produces three times more artillery shells than the United States and Europe for Ukraine

While U.S recognized that Ukraine is running out of ammunition, the gun industry Russia He works as hard as he can to not leave his troops who are profiting on the Ukrainian war front unarmed.

According to a report published by the news network CNN, Russia is producing almost three times as much artillery ammunition as the United States It is Europe together for Ukraine.

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Thus, CNN indicates, Russia produces around 250,000 artillery rounds per monthor about 3 million per year, according to intelligence estimates from the NATO in Russian defense production.

Compared to Russian figures, The United States and Europe have the capacity to generate only about 1.2 million rounds of ammunition annually send to Ukraine, a senior European intelligence official told CNN.

Ukrainian military fire artillery during an anti-drone exercise in the Chernigiv region on November 11, 2023 (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP). (SERGEI SUPINSKY/)

CNN adds that the army’s objective U.S is to produce 100,000 artillery shells per month by the end of 2025, which represents less than half of Russian monthly production.

At this point, it must be specified that this objective of U.S will be fulfilled as long as that country’s Congress unlocks the 60 billion dollars in funds for Ukraine who have been detained since the end of last year, an army source told CNN.

The former president donald trumpcurrently campaigning for the November 2024 elections, ordered Republican lawmakers to no longer approve any aid to Ukraine.

US aid to Ukraine. (AFP).

Additionally, European officials told CNN that Russia currently fires around 10,000 projectiles per daycompared to just 2,000 per day on the Ukrainian side.

“The result in Ukraine It depends on how each side is equipped to carry out this war,” a NATO official told CNN.

Russia operates artillery factories “24/7” on rotating 12-hour shiftscommented the NATO official to CNN.

Around 3.5 million Russians now work in the defense sector, compared with between 2 and 2.5 million before the war.. Russia also imports ammunition from allied countries: Iran sent at least 300,000 artillery shells last year and North Korea provided at least 6,700 ammunition containers carrying millions of projectiles.

Now yes U.S wants to match Russian munitions production, CNN explained that this can only happen if President Joe Biden invokes the Defense Production Act, which gives the president the power to order companies to quickly produce equipment to support the country’s national defense .

As for whether Russia already has its needs met with this production, American and Western officials told CNN that it is still not enough. Furthermore, they underlined that Russian factories are expected to peak next year.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping pose during a meeting in Beijing on October 18, 2023. (Photo by Sergei GUNEYEV/POOL/AFP). (SERGEI GUNEYEV/)

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. The president Vladimir Putin He said it was a “special military operation demilitarize and denazify that former Soviet republic.

Immediately, the United States and its allies announced sanctions against Russia, particularly targeting the energy and banking sectors. Furthermore, they began to persecute Russian oligarchs close to Putin.

But from the initial negative impact that sanctions had on Russia not long. Proof of this is what was announced last February by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which highlighted the strength of the Russian economy and stated that its growth could reach for the 2.6%.

According to IMF data, the Russian economy grew faster than the entire G7 last year and will do so again in 2024.

A BBC analysis states that Russia transformed its economy into a mobilized war economy. The Russian state is spending a record amount in the post-Soviet era.

Military and security spending, which represents up to 40% of the budget, returned to late USSR-era levels. Other areas of state support for the population have been reduced to compensate for funding for the production of tanks, missile systems and defenses in occupied Ukraine, the BBC notes.

Furthermore, revenue streams from the sale of hydrocarbons continued to flow into Russian state coffers despite sanctions.

Russian tankers do business with India and China and most payments are made in Chinese yuan instead of US dollars, points out the BBC.

A Ukrainian gunner from the Aidar battalion holds a shell in a front-line position near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on April 22, 2023. (Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV/AFP). (ANATOLII STEPANOV/)

This Tuesday, The United States announced a new $300 million aid package for Ukraine. The money comes from Defense sector savings and is not part of the 60 billion dollars that are blocked.

Anti-aircraft missiles are included in this package sting and artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems and maintenance equipment, the Pentagon explained. Also rocket systems HIMARS American-made long-range cannons, anti-aircraft guns, and small arms ammunition.

The HIMARS system delivered by the United States to Ukraine. (AFP).

Since the last aid package was sent in mid-December, The White House has repeatedly insisted that the government no longer has the money to support Ukraine and guaranteed that the legislative route was the “only” way to provide more financial aid to the Eastern European country, recalled the EFE agency.

The White House said Tuesday that This help is “extraordinary” is that The US will not be able to continue giving money to Ukraine without this having a “significant” impact on Washington’s “military readiness.”

The 300 million dollars in aid will not serve to stop the military advances of Putin’s troops. The White House estimated it will last a few weeks.

“It is not enough to meet the battlefield needs of Ukraine and will not prevent Ukraine will run out of ammunition in the coming weeks,” said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

“It’s a relatively small package to give Ukraine the minimum of what it needs over a short period of time”said a senior defense official who asked reporters to remain anonymous.

The AFP agency indicated that US allies are concerned about the blockade in Congress and by Trump’s threats to cut funding for Ukraine if he wins the presidential elections in November this year.

What is more, The tycoon encouraged Russia to invade NATO countries that do not meet their defense spending targets.

On Tuesday, the director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stated that Ukraine “Time is running out,” AFP reported.

“FOR Ukraine Your courage and tenacity are not running out, I’m running out of ammoIt is We’re running out of time to help her.“CIA Director William Burns told the US Congress.

CNN recalled that the United States and its allies handed over Ukraine a series of highly sophisticated systems, such as the M-1 Abrams tank and, soon, the F-16 fighter jets. But military analysts say the war will likely be won or lost depending on who fires the most artillery shells.

“The number one problem we are seeing right now is the ammunition“a NATO official told CNN. “It’s those artillery shells, because that’s where they really Russia “It has a significant advantage in production and a significant advantage on the battlefield.”

The war in Ukraine on March 12, 2024. (AFP).

In June last year, after accumulating important military material delivered by the West during the winter, Ukraine launched a counter-offensive to recover the territory conquered by Russia. Even Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went so far as to say that the ultimate goal was to recover annexed Crimea.

But this counteroffensive has been a failure, especially due to efficient lines of defense that the Russians implementedwhich have been practically impenetrable.

Thus, as BBC Mundo notes, since 2022 the front line that stretches for more than 1,000 kilometers has changed very little.

Although within months of the 2022 invasion Ukraine repelled Russian forces from the north in and around the capital Kiev, by 2023 progress for the Ukrainians was minimal.

All of this is a product of powerful Russian fortifications and lack of ammunition on the Ukrainian side.

What’s more, in mid-February, Ukrainian troops withdrew from the city of Avdiivkain the east, for which they fought fiercely with the Russians for a long time.

It was a major victory for Putin as Avdiivka is strategically located and could open routes for a deeper invasion.

Ukraine maintained that it withdrew to preserve the lives of its soldiers and admitted that its forces were outnumbered and outgunned by the Russians.

Currently, BBC Mundo specifies, around 18% of Ukrainian territory remains under Russian occupationincluding the Crimean peninsula annexed in 2014, and much of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the east, which Russia captured soon after.

So far, Russia has failed to achieve its initial objective, capturing Kiev and causing the surrender of Ukrainian forces.

Source: Elcomercio