EU may provide Ukraine with 600,000, not 1 million artillery shells by March – Bloomberg

Of the million artillery shells that European allies promised to deliver to Ukraine by March 2024, Kyiv may receive 600,000, reports Bloomberg with reference to unnamed European diplomats familiar with the matter.

Defense ministers who will meet in Brussels on Thursday may try to count other supplies to increase the total, but will still fall short of the one million projectiles goal, according to reporters' sources.

"If Ukraine’s troops don’t have the shells to keep the pressure on, Russia can continue firing artillery as their infantry attacks Ukrainian positions. That’s not a fair fight for the Ukrainian defenders," said Ann Marie Dailey, a Rand Corp researcher and US Army reserve officer.

The Minister of Defense of Estonia, Hanno Pevkur, said that the Ukrainian troops, on average, expend only one-third of the shells fired by the Russians. According to Estonian estimates, Moscow intends to receive about 4.5 million shells both of its own production and from North Korea.

"And while Ukraine’s more advanced howitzers and targeting equipment mean its forces don’t need as many shells as Russia does to do the same level of damage, the quantity disadvantage can’t be overcome completely," Pevkur said.

In December 2023, Strategic Industries Minister Alexander Kamyshin announced that Ukraine plans to start serial production of 155 mm caliber artillery shells of the NATO standard, and prototypes of these ammunition are already undergoing testing.

On January 14, it was reported that the Swedish government is stimulating the production of 155 mm artillery shells to help Ukraine.

On Sunday, Ukraine's Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said that France will be able to provide the Ukrainian army with 3,000 155 mm caliber shells every month.