Most NATO countries have exhausted their stocks of weapons they are ready to provide to Ukraine. The New York Times writes about it.
With reference to a NATO representative, the publication reports that the amount of artillery used by Ukraine is staggering. If in Afghanistan NATO forces could fire 300 artillery rounds a day and not really worry about air defense, then in the case of Ukraine we are talking about thousands of rounds and an acute need for protection from Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones. The NYT interlocutor emphasizes that this summer Ukrainians used from 6,000 to 7,000 artillery shells daily in Donbass, and Russians – from 40,000 to 50,000. For comparison, only 15,000 shells are produced in the United States every month.
Due to the resulting shortage, NATO is trying to find rarer Soviet-era equipment and ammunition for Ukraine. For example, S-300 air defense missiles and T-72 tanks. In addition, there are now talks in NATO about starting to invest in old factories in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria in order to resume the production of 152 mm and 122 mm shells of the Soviet period. Also, Western countries are looking for a replacement for expensive air defense missiles and Javelin anti-tank systems.
In total, NATO countries have provided about $40 billion worth of weapons to Ukraine. According to the NYT, 20 of the 30 member countries of the alliance have exhausted their stocks, but the remaining 10 can still help Ukraine. Among them are France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.