NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg admitted his surprise at the level of Russian arms and ammunition production since the start of the conflict with Ukraine, saying it exceeded all NATO had expected.
On June 3, Jens Stoltenberg was asked by Sky News reporter to comment on a study published by consulting firm Bain & Company last month, which revealed that Russia is producing artillery shells at a rate more than three times that of all NATO members combined.
Its true that Russia has been able to build its defense industry faster than we expected and its true that its NATO allies have spent more time increasing production, said Stoltenberg.
He explained that the reason why Western countries are falling behind is because after the Cold War, the West has really started to rebuild its defense industry.
However, according to Stoltenberg, the situation is improving as all NATO allies increase their capacity to produce ammunition and weapons.
There have been delays and shortcomings in the transfer of weapons to Kiev in recent months, but this is really changing and the amount of ammunition to Ukraine has increased in recent weeks, Stoltenberg said.
The NATO Secretary General said that Russia's progress in the Kharkov region in recent weeks shows more clearly that NATO needs to increase support for Kiev.
Mr. Stoltenberg emphasized that this support will continue even if former US President Donald Trump wins the election in November, because that will benefit both Europe and the US.
Donald Trump has long expressed skepticism about arms aid to Ukraine, saying the US should stop foreign aid unless it is provided as a loan and stressing that much of the aid must come from Europe.
The US-led military secretary warned that Russia's victory over Ukraine "will make the world more dangerous and we more vulnerable".
The Bain & Company report said Russian plants are expected to produce or upgrade about 4.5 million bullets of artillery this year, compared to the total output of the West of about 1.3 million bullets.
Data released by Bain & Company also shows that the average production cost of a 152mm artillery bullet in Russia is only $1,000, while the cost of producing 155mm shells used by NATO is up to $4,000.
At the end of May, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that domestic ammunition production had increased 14 times, drone production had increased 4 times and the assembly of tanks and armored vehicles had increased 3.5 times since Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
