- The US has tapped its stockpile in Israel for 155mm shells for Ukraine, the New York Times reported.
- Allies scramble to resupply Ukraine with artillery ammunition amid renewed Russian offensive.
- In November, the Pentagon estimated that Ukraine was firing between 4,000 and 7,000 shells a day.
Loading Something is loading.
Thanks for registering!
Access your favorite topics on the go in a personalized feed. Download the app
The Pentagon is sending a huge amount of American ammunition from Israel to Ukraine to meet its urgent need for weapons to fight Russia, The New York Times reported.
The Israeli and American governments have reached an agreement to send 300,000 155mm shells to Ukraine, with Israeli officials doing so in part to avoid conflict with the US, according to the New York Times.
The Pentagon kept the stockpile in place for use in Middle East conflicts, but the Times reported that Israel also had access to the stockpile for use in military emergencies.
The report also said a South Korean camp could send more American weapons.
The US is also buying 100,000 155mm shells from South Korea, which it will then send to Ukraine, Insider reported.
A Ukrainian artillery unit fires a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun at a position near a front line in the Kharkiv region. Photo by IHOR THACHEV/AFP via Getty Images
In addition, according to India’s Economic Times, Pakistan is sending 159 containers of artillery ammunition to Ukraine.
The US scramble for more ammunition to be shipped to Ukraine comes as Russia and Ukraine prepare for expected renewed fighting in the spring.
According to Russia, it has launched a new offensive in the Zaporizhia region
Russia and Ukraine have deployed heavy artillery in the Donbass war of attrition in eastern Ukraine that began in the summer. In November, the Pentagon estimated that Russia was firing about 20,000 shells a day, while Ukraine was firing between 4,000 and 7,000.
Reports of renewed fighting on the previously dormant front in southern Ukraine’s Zaporizhia Oblast emerged on Saturday. Russian forces launched over 160 shelling raids on 21 cities overnight, The Telegraph reported, in what Russia described as a new offensive.
—AFP News Agency (@AFP) January 21, 2023
Ukraine expects to receive a shipment of arms and ammunition from allies. According to the BBC, nine European countries are sending aid packages to Ukraine after a meeting in Germany on Friday. The group includes the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic.
The packages include 600 Brimstone missiles from the UK, self-propelled howitzers, anti-tank grenade launchers and support vehicles.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in Estonia: “In 2023 it is time to turn the momentum achieved by the Ukrainians to push back Russia into gains and push them back out of Ukraine and restore Ukraine’s sovereignty, which it owes.” Law is international law,” the BBC reported.
The US also pledged further support to Ukraine, saying the nation will provide a $2.5 billion military aid package that will include 59 Bradley fighting vehicles, 90 Stryker armored personnel carriers, 53 mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles and 350 highly mobile multi-purpose vehicles includes wheeled vehicles, Portal reported.
But Ukraine, which has repeatedly requested the delivery of hundreds of modern tanks, could not put the German-made Leopard tanks at the top of its wish list. And for now, that doesn’t appear to be changing, Insider reported.
Despite the growing pressure on Berlin to supply its own leopards, or at least allow other groups to send them, Chancellor Olaf Scholz remains hesitant.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told German television: “You can talk like this for six months, but people are dying here every day. If you have Leopard tanks, just give them to us,” the Times reported.