One of the reasons for the problems with the supply of 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine from the European Union is the lack of explosives. This is reported by the British edition of The Economist with reference to experts, UNN reports.
Details
According to the publication, the end of the Cold War led to a sharp drop in demand for weapons and forced many European explosives manufacturers to shut down their operations.
The construction of an explosives plant from scratch can take from three to seven years. The process is complicated by safety and environmental regulations that prevent the expansion of production. Another problem is the lack of labor in the industry, as few people want to work with explosives after graduation.
Some ammunition suppliers look for explosives in other countries, such as India and Japan. At the same time, some experts fear that explosives from abroad are not of such high quality and can damage equipment.
Despite all the difficulties, The Economist notes that there has been some progress in the production of shells. According to forecasts, by the end of this year, the annual production of shells in the EU countries will reach at least 1.4 million pieces, compared to 500 thousand years ago. However, according to the experts interviewed, this is not enough to help Ukrainians facing a shortage of artillery shells.
Context
In February, at the Munich Security Conference, Czech President Petr Pavel announced that Prague had found sources outside the EU to purchase 800,000 rounds of ammunition. In March, the necessary amount of money was raised to buy the first batch of ammunition for Ukraine - 300,000 pieces. In total, it is planned to purchase and transfer 800,000 shells to Ukraine outside the EU initiatives.
