Russian companies produce artillery shells three times faster and four times cheaper than Ukraine's Western partners, reports Sky News.
Consulting company Bain & Company provided the data. According to its analysis, Russia plans to produce 4.5 million rounds of ammunition in 2024, but it is not known what share of them belongs to the restored and produced ones.
The United States and European countries plan to produce 1.3 million shells, which is three times less than Russia.
Although Western countries are increasing production, they are still lagging behind Russia. This is one of the reasons why the ratio of shells is 5 to 1 in favor of Moscow. This, in turn, forces the Ukrainian military to save ammunition and use it as efficiently as possible.
"Often, with just one, two or three shells, we can completely destroy a target," an artilleryman with the 57th Brigade, which is repelling Russia's offensive in the Kharkiv region, told Sky News.
The average cost of producing a 155 mm shell (the caliber produced by NATO countries) is about $4,000 per unit. In contrast, the cost of producing Russian 152 mm caliber shells is about $1,000 per unit.
Sky News notes that Ukraine lacks not only artillery shells. The media writes that Ukrainians undergoing training in Britain are forced to pretend to fire N-LAW missiles from anti-tank grenade launchers, as there is not enough ammunition.
Shells for Armed Forces of Ukraine
Ukraine has long been speaking about the problem of artillery shortage. The EU has allocated funds to purchase an additional million shells, but the delivery schedule is slower than planned.
Czechia has created a separate initiative to purchase ammunition from third countries. Ukraine also produces shells, some of which are located abroad.
The Cabinet of Ministers has improved conditions for Ukrainian ammunition producers. The government increased the profitability for Ukrainian companies to 25%.