Monitoring Desk
BRUSSELS: NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that the defence alliance needs “to increase production” of ammunition as Ukraine’s usage rate is far outstripping current capacities and draining stockpiles.
“The war in Ukraine is consuming enormous munitions and depleting allied stockpiles,” NATO chief told journalists.
“The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition usage is many times higher than our current production rate. This puts our defence industries under pressure to produce more.”
Stoltenberg admitted that NATO was facing an issue as current waiting times for large-caliber ammunition have grown from 12 to 28 months.
However, he insisted he was confident measures taken so far meant NATO members were “on the path that will enable us to support Ukraine, and also to replenish our own stocks.”
Ukraine’s Western backers — who have supplied billions of dollars of arms — will meet Tuesday in Brussels to discuss Kyiv’s weapons demands as the NATO chief said Russian President Vladimir Putin is “launching fresh offensives.”
Stoltenberg said there was an ongoing discussion among allies regarding Ukraine’s demands for modern fighter aircrafts to be sent to the battlefield.
However, he said a key focus was on ensuring the necessary amounts of weaponry flowed to Kyiv’s forces on time and that allies made good on commitments already made on heavy guns and armoured vehicles.
“It is clear that we are in a logistics race,” Stoltenberg said.
“Key capabilities like ammunition, fuel, and spare parts must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the initiative on the battlefield. Speed will save lives.”
NATO to ramp up ammunitions’ production
US NATO ambassador Julianne Smith said the alliance was looking to work “hand in glove” with industry to ramp up output and slash production times.
“This is absolutely essential to ensure that we can keep supporting Ukraine while also ensuring that we collectively can protect every inch of allied territory,” she said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made a powerful plea during a weekend trip to London, Paris, and Brussels for NATO members to send fighter planes to Kyiv.
Zelensky won a commitment to training pilots from Britain but did not get any firm promises that his forces would get Western planes.
Diplomats from several NATO allies said they did not expect any firm announcement from Tuesday’s meeting on supplying jets, but that momentum was building.
The United States- by far the biggest supplier of arms to Ukraine- is seen as key as it could greenlight sending the widely used F-16 fighters.
“The United States remains committed to getting Ukraine what they need,” Smith said.
“We leave that to each sovereign nation to determine how they want to provide assistance and what type of assistance for Ukraine is left in the hands of each individual capital.”
