Artillery is the main weapon in the defense of Ukraine. For example, near Bachmut in the east of the country, heavy artillery keeps the Russian troops in check (see video above). But now the Czech armaments group Czechoslovak Group (CSG) is warning of huge bottlenecks in artillery ammunition in the west. The Ukrainian armed forces are already feeling the effects of this shortfall.
“Artillery ammunition is a very scarce commodity these days,” company owner Michal Strnad told Reuters news agency. The background is the limited production capacity. Strnad estimates it will take 10 to 15 years to replenish Western armies due to Ukraine’s support in fighting the Russian invasion.
“Really delivered a lot to Ukraine”
The European countries have now emptied their arsenal to support Ukraine. According to Strnad, the soldiers there fire 40,000 shells every week from several hundred howitzers supplied by the West against the Russian attackers. “A lot has really been delivered to Ukraine,” he said. “But the fact is that nowadays Ukrainians shoot less than they could because they don’t have enough ammunition.”
His company is currently responsible for about 25 to 30 percent of Europe’s production of NATO-standard 155mm artillery, Strnad said. It has an annual production capacity of 80,000 to 100,000 artillery shells. This constitutes a significant portion of Europe’s annual capacity, which he estimated at 270,000 to 300,000 shells.
CSG major exporter
According to Strnad, the Czech armament group wants to hire 250 to 300 new employees and expand capacity to 150,000, but this would take about two years due to long delivery times of production equipment. CSG is a major supplier of modernized Soviet-era weapons to Ukraine. But here too, stocks and delivery options would be scarce, says Strnad.
Source: Krone
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