Ukrainian defense industry representatives are considering launching domestic NATO-standard 155 mm shells production not until "the second half of this year," the Washington Post reported on March 20, citing an anonymous source from Ukraine's state-owned military enterprise Ukroboronprom.
NATO-standard 155 mm shells are necessary for the artillery systems supplied by Ukraine's Western allies.
As the U.S. aid of $60 billion for Ukraine remains stuck in Congress, facing an uphill battle in the Republican-led House of Representatives, Kyiv is being confronted with critical shortages of ammunition.
NATO-standard 155 mm shells are "desperately short supply" on the front, the Washington Post says. The Ukroboronprom official told the media outlet that production would not begin until "the second half" of 2024. The official did not provide any further details.
Ukraine is trying to ramp up its domestic ammunition production to become more independent from Western backers. In the summer of 2023, Ukroboronprom said that it had already mastered the production of 82 mm mortar mines, 122 mm and 152 mm artillery rounds, as well as 125 mm tank shells.
The next step for Ukraine's state-owned military enterprise was to launch the production of NATO-caliber rounds, but since then, no new information has been provided.
Delays in U.S. military assistance, caused by disputes in Congress, have already had a direct impact on the battlefield, contributing to the loss of the key front-line city of Avdiivka.
Several countries joined a Czech-led initiative to procure 800,000 sorely needed artillery shells for Ukraine.
Martin Fornusek
