Buried in Steel: Military Production & NATO’s Proxy War in Ukraine

– Western sources claim Russia is using up to 3,000 glide bombs per month;

– Western sources also claim Russia is producing up to 4.5 million rounds per year, more than the collective West will be producing once production expansion targets are achieved in 2-3 years;

– Because both munitions have proven decisive and the collective West is incapable of matching Russian production, it is clear that in this war of attrition Russia has the decisive advantage;

– It should be remembered that according to US policy papers, the goal was never for Ukraine to “win,” but simply incur a steep enough cost on Russia to perhaps precipitate a Soviet Union-style collapse, though such a prospect seems more and more remote;

Related article:

Buried in Steel: Military Production & NATO’s Proxy War in Ukraine

References:

Sky News – Russia is producing artillery shells around three times faster than Ukraine’s Western allies and for about a quarter of the cost (May 26, 2024):
https://news.sky.com/story/russia-is-…

Politico – EU doles out €500M for artillery ammunition and missiles as it seeks to match Russia (March 15, 2024):
https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-do…

VOA – Without More Funds, US Unable to Hit Ammunition Production Goals (March 1, 2024):
https://www.voanews.com/a/without-mor…

Reuters – Inside Europe’s drive to get ammunition to Ukraine as Russia advances (March 6, 2024):
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/…

BBC – Russia’s glide bombs devastating Ukraine’s cities on the cheap (May 19, 2024):
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cz5…

Defense Express – Spending Dozens of Glide Bombs a Day, russians Struggle to Deal With Critical Problems of Their Creation (May 2023):
https://en.defence-ua.com/weapon_and_…

RUSI – Jamming JDAM: The Threat to US Munitions from Russian Electronic Warfare (June 2023):
https://www.rusi.org/explore-our-rese…

Reuters – Russia intercepts five HIMARS, JDAM bomb, 37 drones over Ukraine in last 24 hours (October 2023):
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/…