The fighting in Ukraine has locked in a war of attrition where both sides have come to rely heavily on artillery. Such large quantities are fired that something similar has not been seen since the Second World War.
This also places demands on Western countries, which are struggling to meet Ukraine’s demand for artillery ammunition.
– If we fail to do this, the outcome of the war is in danger, said Josep Borrell.
The West does not have the capacity to produce sufficient quantities for Ukraine, and is forced to remove its own stockpiles. For the Western countries, it is a risk-taking, because ammunition is also needed to defend their own countries in the event of war.
Must produce more ammo
– We need to do everything we can to get this production started. It is of course in a hurry, says Rein Pella, teacher of defense systems at the Norwegian Defense University.
Earlier this week, the EU’s foreign ministers met to discuss a proposal from member country Estonia to jointly place orders for ammunition at the EU level to ramp up production.
According to the proposal, a similar model should be used as when the Union procured vaccines against covid-19.
The lack of artillery ammunition could mean Ukrainian losses on the battlefield – hears artillery expert Rein Pella in the video.