The pace of Western arms deliveries to Ukraine lags behind the plans set by partner countries due to the limited capacity of their defense industries.

German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius shared this ZDF Today.

Pistorius acknowledges that the supply of weapons by European allies, especially in the area of ammunition and air defense systems, is behind schedule.

“At the moment, we have a problem that the arms industry cannot provide supplies in certain areas as fast as we need,” Pistorius said.

The Minister of Defense also notes that the goal of one million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine is unlikely to be achieved.

“This figure created expectations that were ultimately not met. One million is not easy to achieve for a defense industry that has transitioned from peacetime,” the German Minister of Defense noted.

At the same time, Pistorius promised to improve the situation with ammunition for Ukraine in the near future, emphasizing that the industry is constantly increasing capacity “wherever it can.”

“You can be sure that the situation will improve in the coming months. Germany alone will provide almost 200,000 rounds of ammunition. But everything takes time, and this is not a matter of political decisions or financial resources,” Pistorius emphasized.

Germany to provide Ukraine with ammunition

In its press release, Rheinmetall, a major German ammunition manufacturer, notes that the demand for artillery ammunition is currently very high, due not just to Ukraine’s requirements but also the need to replenish the largely empty ammunition depots of Germany and other NATO and EU countries.

Rheinmetall plans a massive increase in ammunition production capacity in 2024 at its plants in Germany, Spain, South Africa, and Australia, bringing annual output capacity to around 700,000 artillery rounds.

In early December, Rheinmetall won a large-volume order for supporting Ukraine with artillery ammunition. The Düsseldorf-based tech enterprise has been tasked with supplying Kyiv with artillery rounds worth around €142 million.

In mid-October 2023, the German government also ordered about 100,000 155-mm artillery shells produced by the Spanish company Rheinmetall Expal Munitions.

In early November, Rheinmetall received an order from the German government to supply Ukraine with around 100,000 rounds of 120mm mortar ammunition.

At the same time, the production and delivery of approximately 40,000 large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine under a pre-order is scheduled for 2024.