Russia appears on track to produce nearly three times more artillery munitions than the US and Europe, a key advantage ahead of what is expected to be another Russian offensive in Ukraine later this year.
Russia is producing about 250,000 artillery munitions per month, or about 3 million a year, according to NATO intelligence estimates of Russian defense production shared with CNN, as well as sources familiar with Western efforts to arm Ukraine. Collectively, the US and Europe have the capacity to generate only about 1.2 million munitions annually to send to Kyiv, a senior European intelligence official told CNN.
The US military set a goal to produce 100,000 rounds of artillery a month by the end of 2025 — less than half of the Russian monthly output — and even that number is now out of reach with $60 billion in Ukraine funding stalled in Congress, a senior Army official told reporters last week.
“What we are in now is a production war,” a senior NATO official told CNN. “The outcome in Ukraine depends on how each side is equipped to conduct this war.”
Ukraine cannot win without foreign troops on the ground.
To think otherwise is delusional, and I guarantee after Ukraine loses you’ll be saying “if they just received more aid!”
US boots will not touch Ukrainian soil until NATO boots do. Europe would have to bring the US into it. It’s always been a proxy war. US gear and Ukrainian blood.
I would have been better for Ukraine for troops to be there on day 1, but it’s better for the “western powers” to have a weakened Russia after a drawn out war so you know what we went with
And if we already have problems making shells, merely sending in the troops wouldn’t exactly help. Besides, very politically expensive to open up what would be a long war
Air superiority would be the major thing Western forces would add; and it would make a night and day difference in the war.
Not to mention trying to hold against a western backed resistance movement.
FWIW, USA doesn’t really want them to win, just to kill the other side as much as possible (with as little help as possible)
I’m sure the US would want them to win.
It’s just their military leaders recognize Ukraine cannot win and it’s better for Ukrainians to die fighting Russia than NATO members.
There’s a faction in the US that wants them to win, another faction that wants them to lose (but doesn’t quite come out and say it), and a whole lot of people who think it’s not their problem.
The faction that wants them to win is in the White House, but they have to work with a bunch of people in Congress who have been sabotaging the effort.