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“The war in Ukraine has become a battle of ammunition,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after a signing ceremony at the western military alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustam Umerov said last week that a shortage of ammunition, which he called an “ammunition shortage,” was a major problem for Kyiv’s troops nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) brokered the agreement on behalf of several allies who will either transfer the shells to Ukraine or use them to store their depleted supplies.
A NATO official identified the buyers as Belgium, Lithuania and Spain, who banded together to get a cheaper price.
The contract is expected to provide for the delivery of about 220,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, with the first deliveries expected in late 2025, the official told Reuters.
According to industry sources, the French arms manufacturer Nexter and the German company Junghans will supply the projectiles.
Since NATO launched the program to renew artillery projectiles last July, the NSPA has concluded contracts worth around 9.19 billion euros, Stoltenberg said. These include artillery and tank shells as well as Patriot anti-aircraft missiles.
At a meeting in February, NATO defense ministers will discuss other ways to increase industrial production, which the NATO chief described as absolutely necessary to ensure continued Western support for Kiev.
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