NATO has recognized that the supply of artillery to Ukraine needs to be increased in the face of the escalating Russian offensive. (Reuters)

The countries of the I WILL TAKE assured that they increase the production of artillery ammunitionat a time when Ukraine consumes missiles much faster than the West can manufacture them, the Alliance said on Wednesday, amid pledges to deliver at least 48 Leopard 2 battle tanks in Kyiv.

“Things are happening, but (…) we need to try even harder, because there is a great need to supply ammunition to Ukraine“, declared to the press the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenbergafter a two-day meeting of the Alliance Defense Ministers in Brussels.

He pointed out that countries like United States, France, Germany and Norway they had signed ammunition contracts which would allow NATO members to replenish their own reserves, but also to continue to supply kyiv, which has lost ground due to the escalation of the russian offensive.

Even before the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, many countries in the I WILL TAKE did not achieve the goals of ammunition storage of the covenant

The pace of deliveries to Ukraine, where kyiv troops fire up to 10,000 artillery shells a day, further depleted Western stocks. At the same time, plans to supply kyiv with two battalions of Leopard 2 tanks they take shape.

Jens Stoltenberg noted that the pace of deliveries to Ukraine, where Kiev troops fire up to 10,000 artillery shells a day, has further depleted Western stocks. (Reuters)
Jens Stoltenberg noted that the pace of deliveries to Ukraine, where Kiev troops fire up to 10,000 artillery shells a day, has further depleted Western stocks. (Reuters)

German Minister of Defense Boris Pistoriusindicated that Western countries had pledged to provide 48 Leopard 2 tanks in kyiv, including a battalion of 31 Leopard 2 A4 tanks the oldest whose delivery is coordinated by Poland.

Moreover, according to Pistorius, Berlin will send 14 and Lisbon three more of the Leopard 2 A6 tanksmore advanced.

The allies have also launched a debate on whether defense spending of 2% of the Gross domestic product a full-scale war in neighboring Ukraine is enough.

“I think we should move from considering 2% as a ceiling to considering 2% of GDP as a floor, at a minimumsaid Stoltenberg.

“I think moving towards the 2% target alone will not be enough, it can only be the basis for further steps,” Germany’s defense minister told reporters.

A decision is expected in the NATO Summit which will take place in July Lithuania.

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Western countries have pledged to supply 48 Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, including a battalion of 31 older Leopard 2 A4 tanks whose delivery is coordinated by Poland. (Reuters)
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Western countries have pledged to supply 48 Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv, including a battalion of 31 older Leopard 2 A4 tanks whose delivery is coordinated by Poland. (Reuters)

In his Welsh Summit 2014, NATO leaders agreed to spend at least 2% of their GDP on defense within a decade. It was his response to what NATO perceived as a serious deterioration in the security situation in Europe months after Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.

But many countries, like Germany, still miss the mark.

In 2022, Berlin’s defense spending is expected to reach less than 1.5% of GDPwhile those of the United States, one of the leading countries, stood at nearly 3.5%, according to NATO estimates published last June.

(With information from Reuters)

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