NATO countries will ramp up the industrial production of weapons and ammunition.

Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, announced this at a press conference on Monday, Ukrinform reports.

New weapons are necessary to replenish the stocks in the arsenals of the Alliance countries and further assist Ukraine in the war with Russia.

According to the NATO Secretary General, Ukraine’s war with Russia is depleting the Alliance’s stockpiles, as the level of ammunition used by the Defense Forces of Ukraine is significantly higher than the level of production.

“The war in Ukraine is… depleting Allied stockpiles. The current rate of Ukraine’s ammunition expenditure is many times higher than our current rate of production,” Stoltenberg said.

He noted that this puts the defense industries of NATO countries under strain.

“For example, the waiting time for large-caliber ammunition has increased from 12 to 28 months. Orders placed today would only be delivered two-and-a-half years later. Thus, we need to ramp up production and invest in our production capacity,” the Secretary General of the Alliance pointed out.

Jens Stoltenberg said that NATO has just completed a review of munitions stockpiles and intends to increase them through the NATO Defence Planning Process.

According to him, several Allies, including the United States and France, have already signed new multi-year contracts with the defense industry, enabling them to invest in increased production capacity.

“I look forward to further progress. This is essential to ensure we can keep supporting Ukraine while protecting every inch of Allied territory,” the NATO Secretary General emphasized.

Previously, representatives of Poland in Brussels called for an increase in the production of ammunition and their supply to Ukraine.

Mateusz Morawiecki, Prime Minister of Poland, who arrived last Thursday for the two-day extraordinary summit of the European Council, claimed that ammunition and rounds are what Ukraine needs most now.