According to NATO officials, the amount of artillery being used on Ukrainian frontlines is staggering. In Afghanistan, NATO forces might have fired even 300 artillery rounds a day and had no real worries about air defense, but Ukraine can fire thousands of rounds daily and remains desperate for air defense against Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones, The New York Times wrote.
Now, nine months into the war, the West’s fundamental unpreparedness has set off a mad scramble to supply Ukraine with what it needs while also replenishing NATO stockpiles. As both sides burn through weaponry and ammunition at a pace not seen since World War II, the competition to keep arsenals flush has become a critical front that could prove decisive to Ukraine’s effort.
“A day in Ukraine is a month or more in Afghanistan,” said Camille Grand, a defense expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, who until recently was NATO’s assistant secretary general for defense investment.
Last summer, the Ukrainians were firing 6,000 to 7,000 artillery rounds each day in the country’s Donbas region, according to a senior NATO official, while the Russians were firing 40,000 to 50,000 rounds per day. By comparison, the United States produces only 15,000 rounds each month, NYT noted.
Russians use 40-60,000 artillery shells every day — Commander in Chief
