Many Western supporters in Kiev are facing the same problem, with the US reportedly telling them to “line up” for supplies
have “Little left” The Corriere Della Sera newspaper reported on Friday that Italy’s military stockpiles had been reduced after six shipments of aid to Ukraine. With Italian industry dismantled and American supplies uncertain, the country reportedly had enough ammunition for two days of fighting.
The newspaper quoted Defense Ministry sources as saying that the Italian military currently lacks heavy and light artillery ammunition and can only “Seriously difficult.”
“On the shelf,” According to sources, “Not much left.” According to other military officials quoted in the report, if Italy were attacked today, it would have enough ammunition to defend against “Between 48 and 72 hours.”
Italy has provided Ukraine with more than $727 million in military aid, according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank. While that figure pales in comparison to the $47 billion pledged by the United States, Rome has also paid money to the European Union’s European Peace Fund, a joint arms-buying program worth nearly $4 billion.
According to the newspaper, Italian inventories were low to begin with, and two-thirds of Italian manufacturing plants have closed over the past decade, and it will take the domestic industry three years to fulfill current orders for artillery ammunition and six years to replenish them. Missile inventory.Against this backdrop, Defense Department sources said Rome sought ammunition from Washington but was told “queue,” And the wait time will be long.
Italy was far from the only European country bloodied in support of Kiev. According to several retired generals, after handing over all of its AS-90 howitzers and untold amounts of ammunition to Ukraine, the UK was left with enough ammunition to sustain three hours to a day of modern combat.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said in October that his country had no more weapons to give Ukraine, while German officials have warned since mid-2022 that the country’s dilapidated army has been left behind “exhausted” Berlin’s efforts to arm Kiev.Despite higher military spending across the EU, the bloc’s stockpile “almost empty” The EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, sounded the alarm back in December.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., military leaders are scrambling to procure artillery shells from their foreign allies, and none of the successive weapons packages include the number of shells Ukraine says it needs to fire at full force.
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The recently leaked Pentagon Papers suggest that ammunition shortages could stall Ukraine’s long-promised spring offensive against Russian forces, while a Politico report last month said the Biden administration privately fears the operation could fail.
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