Ukraine produced record number of shells in June – minister of strategic industries
In June 2023, the defense industry of Ukraine produced more mortar and artillery shells than during the whole last year.
The Minister of Strategic Industries, Oleksandr Kamyshin, stated this in his interview with Bloomberg.
He simultaneously declared the exact amount of mortar and artillery shells produced a "secret."
"I wouldn't say that we managed to increase ammunition production in three months. In 2022, we produced so little. We have to be ambitious because we have no choice. My goal is to make Ukraine the arsenal of the free world," Kamyshin said.
Kamyshin also said he started with shells and mortars because they are central to the battle, which he calls "World War II with drones."
It is noted that the domestic production of ammunition is currently increasing in Ukraine. Ukrainian anti-tank complexes "Stuhna-P" also began to come off the conveyors faster.
According to the minister, increasing the production of tanks and armored vehicles is the next priority, but it will take 3-6 months to bring results.
In the long term, Kamyshin wants to make Ukraine a leading arms producer and use this expansion to boost the recovery of an economy that shrank by nearly a third last year.
He encourages foreign manufacturers to come to Ukraine during wartime, where costs are low, production facilities can be relocated and rebuilt within months, and foreign companies can use daily combat experience to upgrade their weapons.
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It should be noted that the United States of America allocated a new defense aid package to Ukraine. In particular, the US confirmed the provision of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Later, the Pentagon revealed the details of a new $800 million package of military aid to Ukraine.
The new package of US military aid includes so-called advanced dual-purpose conventional munitions (cluster munitions).
The day before, the representative of the Pentagon, Pat Ryder, said that the cluster munitions would not be transferred from old stocks. And the failure rate should not exceed 2.35%.
In an interview with CNN, the head of the White House, Joe Biden, admitted that Ukraine needs cluster munitions for defense. The decision of the United States of America to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions was "difficult," but Kyiv needed the munitions for a counteroffensive against the Russian Federation.
In turn, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov assured that Ukraine's armed forces would adhere to 5 basic principles when using cluster munitions, which were included in the new package of military aid from the United States of America, including but not limited to strict accounting and more.
In 2008 more than 120 countries adopted a treaty banning cluster munitions' production, use, and stockpiling. The United States, Russia, and Ukraine refused to join it.
