NATO signs 1.1bn euro contract for 155mm artillery ammunition

NATO has signed a 1.1 billion euro contract for 155mm artillery ammunition, some of which will be provided to Ukraine, after the latter complained that scarcity of ammunition was impeding its combat efforts.

Following a signing ceremony at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg declared, “The war in Ukraine has turned into a battle of ammunition.”

Ukrainian Defence Minister, Rustem Umerov said last week a shortage of ammunition, which he described as “shell hunger”, was a big problem for Kyiv’s troops nearly two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

NATO negotiated the agreement on behalf of a number of partners who will either give the shells to Ukraine or replenish their own low stockpiles. Purchasing in bulk guarantees cheaper costs.

A NATO official identified the buyers as Belgium, Lithuania and Spain, which pooled together to benefit from the lower prices ensured by buying in bulk.

The contract will likely buy some 220,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, with the first deliveries expected at the end of 2025, a NATO official told journalists.

The ammunition will be supplied by French arms maker Nexter and Germany’s Junghans, according to an industry source.

Since NATO began a programme to address shortfalls in allies’ military stocks last July, the NSPA has agreed deals worth some $10 billion (9.19 billion euros), Stoltenberg said. This included artillery and tank shells, and Patriot air defence missiles.

At a meeting in February, NATO defence ministers are set to discuss other ways to step up industrial production which the NATO chief described as absolutely necessary to enable continued Western support for Kyiv.