©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A DITA howitzer gun vehicle mount is pictured at the weapons factory in Sternberk, Czech Republic, February 27, 2024. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw/File Photo
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By Anthony Deutsch and Jan Lopatka
STERNBERK, Czech Republic (Reuters) – Hundreds of Czechs and a handful of Ukrainians are working around the clock in the eastern part of the Czech Republic to turn a collection of World War II buildings into a hub for supplying weapons and ammunition to the ‘Ukraine.
The initiative is part of Europe’s efforts to supply Kiev with weapons to repel Russian forces after the stalling of US military aid, which has been the backbone of international support.
Visiting the Sternberk facility owned by private Czech weapons manufacturer Excalibur Army, General Onno Eichelsheim, head of the Dutch army, described the urgency of the situation as Kiev’s losses mount in eastern and southern Ukraine.
“We have to speed up. We have to deliver more and we have to do it faster,” he told Reuters during a recent trip to inspect self-propelled howitzer guns and a refurbished Russian tank to be sent into battle.
The most pressing need for Ukraine two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion is artillery ammunition, which is running out as the sides use heavy cannon fire to maintain largely static and entrenched positions along the line of the front 1,000 km (620 miles) long.
The European Union, which with other Western allies wants to contain the Russian advance and push back an increasingly assertive rival, launched an initiative in March 2023 to deliver 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine within 12 months.
A year later, it had delivered just over half that number, officials said, due to insufficient production capacity and a lack of long-term orders.
“CLEANING HOUSE”
The Czech government played a central role in trying to raise financing among partners and in concluding agreements with the Czech defense industry.
The Netherlands has also been “quite busy for a few months in several countries” trying to make up the deficit of artillery rounds, said Colonel Simon Wouda, head of the Dutch task force on Ukraine.
“The first batch should be ready within four months, and this is a very conservative calculation. The second part can certainly be delivered in the second half of this year,” Wouda said, describing the timing of supplies for the first time.
He said efforts were underway to secure further contracts with the Excalibur Army – which is part of the private Czechoslovakian Group (CSG) – to purchase 155mm shells, which fit into Dutch-supplied artillery guns.
The Czechoslovak Group serves as an ammunition manufacturer and clearinghouse, making air defense systems and vehicles, purchasing tanks, artillery and shells from around the world and refurbishing them for Ukraine.
Western European countries and other allies pay for much of the material. Ukraine also purchases military equipment and ammunition directly from partners.
The Netherlands worked with the Czech Republic to find as many 155 mm artillery rounds as possible for Ukraine.
Wouda wants to ensure a constant supply of ammunition as part of a security agreement made by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The Netherlands and other countries will finance around 800,000 artillery shells from the Czech Republic.
AMMUNITION PRICES INCREASE
Coalition members financing the short-term purchases include Britain, Canada, Denmark, the Czech Republic and the United States, among others, Wouda told Reuters.
“Collectively we have actually found opportunities around the world to find munitions in other places, outside of Europe,” he said, declining to identify those locations.
In the two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, much of Ukraine’s munitions from abroad have been purchased from US stockpiles.
Western producers have ramped up production to meet the unexpected surge in demand, and the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, expects annual production of shells across the EU to reach 1.4 million by the end of 2024. A year ago it was around 500,000.
For every bullet Ukraine fires into the front lines, Russia fires five or six, defense officials and analysts say. This imbalance limits Ukraine’s ability to suppress Russian attacks and provide cover for its own troop movements.
Russia has increased weapons production and can maintain a much higher rate of fire than Ukraine, but Western experts say Moscow also faces some constraints and has turned to North Korea to bolster its ammunition supplies .
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told EU foreign ministers last week that Ukraine will need 2.5 million artillery shells this year, according to the Financial Times – suggesting a daily requirement of 7,000 – but the EU only sent 400,000.
Ammunition supplies to Ukraine have been politically disrupted, with the US Congress blocking a $60 billion military aid package and European powers divided over the use of EU funds to buy munitions outside the block.
About 2 million large-caliber ammunition is available on the global market, a senior Czech official said.
Demand from the war in Ukraine has pushed prices up to $2,800-$3,200 per round from $700-$1,200 previously, two sources close to the market said.
CHALLENGES
Ammunition supplies to Kiev must be increased if it is to have any chance of turning the tide of the war, analysts Franz-Stefan Gady and Michael Kofman wrote in a February research paper for the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“For supporting countries, the challenge is to significantly increase the production of artillery munitions and air defense interceptors,” it reads.
“Kiev needs about 75,000-90,000 artillery shells per month to sustain the war on the defensive, and more than double – 200,000-250,000 – for a full-scale offensive.”
The provenance of the ammunition is a matter of debate within the EU.
The Netherlands has allocated 250 million euros ($271 million) to purchase ammunition for Kiev, including non-European stockpiles through the Czech defense industry, and has asked allies to contribute to the plan implemented with the Czech government .
The senior Czech official said donor countries can choose from a list of offers of various product types and origins, while several Czech companies operate as “clearinghouses”.
With European ammunition depleted for two years, the official wondered why there would be hesitation to go beyond local markets.
France and Germany are considering joining the initiative. French President Emmanuel Macron supported the plan during a visit to Prague on Tuesday and opened the door to using European funds, but did not say what contribution Paris would make.
France also invited the foreign and defense ministers of Ukraine’s key allies and the NATO Secretary General to participate in a video call on Thursday aimed at showing a “united front” and presenting concrete proposals to increase support for Kiev.
The invitation said the meeting will examine ways to accelerate the delivery of supply and production of artillery ammunition.
NOT JUST AMMUNITION
Ukraine’s needs go beyond artillery ammunition. It wants to strengthen its air defenses and needs more front-line hardware to match Russia’s superior resources. South Korea and Turkey are among the countries that have so far supplied Ukraine.
By the end of the year, US F-16 fighter jets are expected to be delivered to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands. The Dutch are also part of a group providing advanced drones capable of attacking deeper into Russian-controlled territory.
The Netherlands has already received 100 mounted anti-aircraft guns and 45 refurbished T-72 tanks for Ukraine from the Excalibur Army, among 105 financed with the United States and Denmark.
It ordered nine modern howitzer gun systems. Another Czech supplier, radar technology company ERA, will supply four long-range surveillance systems, also donated by the Dutch.
Pavel Doško, director of business development at CSG’s Defense Land Systems, said hundreds of workers have been added to increase production at the Sternberk site.
“Together with the Dutch partners and the other partners we have in NATO, we are now able to provide Ukraine with a large amount of material that it desperately needs for its defense,” he said in an interview.
Standing near a construction site where concrete floors were recently poured and a steel beam structure built, he said, “We’re doing what we can to deliver as much as we can, as best as we can, and as quickly as we can.” possible”.
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