Brussels [Belgium], October 4: On October 4, CNN quoted NATO officials as warning that Western militaries were running out of ammunition to aid Ukraine, and called on all parties to step up production to continue providing support.
Admiral Rob Bauer, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee, said that "the bottom of the barrel is now seen" when he spoke at the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland on October 3.
"We started donating from warehouses that were half full or less in Europe and those warehouses are now running out. We need to ramp up production at a much faster pace," he urged. Ukraine uses thousands of artillery shells every day, most of which are provided by NATO.
Previously, expert Thomas Warrick at the Atlantic Council (USA) said that the US and its allies are sending many types of ammunition to Ukraine, but the production and delivery are not fast enough.
According to him, when Ukraine postponed its counterattack until early June to get more weapons and ammunition for the front line, Russia had time to strengthen its defenses, significantly reducing the enemy's counterattack power. " Ukrainian forces have proven to be flexible and adaptable, but they need enough ammunition and weapons," he said.
At the forum, British Defense Minister James Heappey said that Western military reserves seemed a bit scarce, and called on NATO members to spend 2% of GDP on defense as they had committed.
"We cannot stop just because our stockpiles look a little scarce. We must ensure that Ukraine continues the war tonight, tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and the day after that. If we stop , that doesn't mean Russia automatically stops," BBC quoted Mr. Heappey as saying.
According to the British Ministry of Defense, London has provided Kyiv with more than 300,000 artillery shells since February 2022 and pledged to provide "tens of thousands more shells" by the end of this year. At the same time, the US provided Ukraine with more than 2 million NATO standard 155 mm artillery shells. Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said it was important for Europe to have an appropriate defense industrial base to support Ukraine in the long term.
On the US side, the Pentagon warned that while there is currently enough funding to continue supporting Ukraine, the money could run out if the country's Congress does not act. On October 3, US President Joe Biden spoke by phone with leading allies about coordinating support for Ukraine. After the call, European Union leaders continued to affirm their support for Ukraine. Liaison coordinator John Kirby of the US National Security Council said the White House is confident that Congress will approve new aid to Ukraine.
"We know that the majority of members of Congress support additional assistance to Ukraine. We know and appreciate their statements on that," he said.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper
