Denmark and Norway have agreed to donate 9,000 rounds of artillery to Ukraine on 15 June. Norway will provide the shells while Denmark donates fuzes and propellant charges.
Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russia, now ten days old, is making slow progress along the eastern and southern fronts as it combats a Russian defensive network that includes extensive minefields and pre-planned security zones used to direct and channel offensive manoeuvres.
The 9,000 rounds of artillery comes after a string of support yesterday from various countries, on 14 June. The United States, in a package worth $325m, provided muntions and fighting vehicles while the Joint Expeditionary Force, a military alliance of ten northern European countries, provided air defences worth $116.2m, which both Denmark and Norway also contributed.
Sustainment
While Europe mobilises to support Ukraine and their own stockpiles, the Ukrainian Armed Forces spends more ammunition than it gains. This is has been an ongoing problem since the war started in February last year.
In fact, Global Defence Technology reported that the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a London-based think tank, visited Ukraine in April 2023 to find that Ukraine was expending 6,000 rounds of 152mm ammunition per day, compared with the 20,000 rounds per day being spent by Russia.
If this is the level of consumption we discover at a time when conflict is less intense, then the number of rounds needed per day for Ukraine during its taxing counter-offensive will be significantly higher. This leaves Ukraine and its allies to contemplate the elephant in the room: sustaining their ammunition.
As of 14 June, nearly 50 ally and partner countries have provided security assistance to Ukraine. Excluding the United States, these countries have delivered nearly 100,000 rounds of long-range artillery ammunition, nearly 250,000 anti-tank munitions, 8,214 short-range air defense missiles, according to the US Department of State.
The US alone has provided over $40bn in military assistance, which includes munitions.
While western countries continue to provide Ukraine with incremental packages of ammunition every so often, as worthwhile as their donations are to arming Ukrainian soldiers, there is no strategy for sustaining the ammunition required to prosecute a drawn out counter-offensive.
