The UK and Nato have warned that Western military powers no longer have enough weapons to give Ukraine for its defense against Russia’s big attack.
Admiral Rob Bauer, the highest-ranking military official in NATO, said at the Warsaw Security Forum that we are in a very difficult situation. We have reached the lowest point and things are not looking good.
He said that governments and defense manufacturers need to increase production at a faster rate now.
Ukraine shoots many shells each day and most of them now come from Nato.
The leader of the military group in Nato said that for many years, the countries in Nato did not spend enough money to properly support their military forces. Now, they are giving weapons to Ukraine, even though they don’t have many weapons left in their storage places.
We need a lot of things in big amounts. The economy we created together over the past 30 years, which focuses on getting things done quickly and efficiently, is good for many things. However, it is not suitable for the military during a war.
The UK Defence Minister, James Heappey, said that the Western military supplies are running low and asked Nato allies to spend 2% of their country’s wealth on defence, as they had promised to do.
He asked when is the right time to spend 2% on defense if not when there is a war in Europe.
He also mentioned that the “just-in-time” model does not work when you need to be prepared for the fight tomorrow.
“We can’t give up just because we have less inventory,” Mr. “We need to continue supporting Ukraine tonight, tomorrow, and the following days. ” And if we quit, that doesn’t mean Putin automatically quits.
And that meant, he said, “continuing to help others every day, and making sure we have enough for ourselves again. ”
The obvious problem is that not everyone in the alliance is currently using 2% of their GDP on defense. That should be the minimum amount of money we spend on defence, not the maximum.
He said, “The US is starting to focus more on the alliance from both the east and west. It’s fair for our friends in Congress to see that European countries are spending their fair share of 2% on NATO resources. ”
The Defence Minister of Sweden, Pol Jonson, stated that it is important for Europe to strengthen its defense industry in order to provide ongoing support to Ukraine.
“He said that we are spending a lot of money and using a lot of resources. ”
“And ultimately, I believe it is important for Ukrainians to be able to buy defense equipment from European manufacturers. ” We learned important lessons here about size and quantity, especially when it comes to artillery ammunition.
The UK defence ministry has said that since the invasion began in February 2022, the UK has provided over 300,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. They have also promised to provide “tens of thousands more” by the end of this year.
The US state department says that during the same period, America has given Ukraine more than two million standard 155mm artillery rounds used by Nato.
Kyiv relies heavily on US ammunition, to the point that NATO allies are worried about what might happen if Donald Trump is re-elected as president next year.
They are worried that if Mr. Trump decides to make a deal with Moscow, the US military might not continue to help Ukraine as much as they do now.
The problem is that even though Ukraine is trying to make more ammunition, they are using it up quicker than the Western powers can give them more.
NATO and EU nations have made plans to share knowledge, partner with defense companies, and provide financial support for production.
But it seems like they are still having difficulty fulfilling the requirement.
Experts suggest that Russia is in a better position to boost its economy during times of war and replace its resources.