Failure of ammunition supplies: the head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries has already been replaced, and the Ministry of Defence is next in line

Failure of ammunition supplies: the head of the Ministry of Strategic Industries has already been replaced, and the Ministry of Defence is next in line

A week ago, the Ukrainian media space was engulfed in a scandal – the war correspondent for "TSN" and the state TV marathon Yuliya Kiriyenko-Merinova publicly raised the issue of the lack of ammunition for 120-mm mortars among Ukrainian defenders.

«How to repel assaults, for example, in the Pokrovsk direction, where the enemy sends its meat in small groups, when you are given 10 120-mm mortar shells for a week?!» - the journalist was outraged.

At the Ministry of Defence, mortar and artillery shots are called "critical nomenclature." This list includes 82 mm and 120 mm mortar shots, rockets for "Grad," and artillery shots of 122 mm, 152 mm, and 155 mm.

Let’s decipher: a shot is ammunition ready for firing. If you hear the expression "mortar shot," it means the mine itself with an explosive inside, a fuse, a propellant, and additional powder charges. Drop such a kit into the mortar, the firing pin hits the propellant cap, it ignites the powder charges – and the mine flies out of the mortar towards enemy positions. To ensure the mine doesn’t just fall like a brick, a fuse is screwed on the tip – from the overload of the flight it goes into combat mode and, once the mine touches any surface, the fuse detonates the explosive inside the mine – an explosion occurs, which with furious acceleration covers everything around with shrapnel from the mine’s body. That’s why mortar and artillery shots are so effective against infantry.

The lack of shots is the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, which should provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine with weapons and ammunition. However, in our realities, there is another department responsible for the lack of ammunition in the Ukrainian army now, in the 3rd year of the war. In particular, Ukrainian-made ammunition.

«We have launched the serial production of the entire range of full-fledged mortar and artillery shots», - Oleksandr Kamyshyn in the Verkhovna Rada on September 4, during his report on the results of his work as the Minister of Strategic Industries.

Oleksandr Kamyshyn in the Verkhovna Rada on September 4, 2024

«We weren’t afraid and took on the commitments, even though everyone said there would be no production, no defense industry… we invested in production, and now every second piece of ammunition is Ukrainian», - said Rustem Umyerov in an interview with the "Rada" TV channel on the results of his year in the position of Minister of Defence of Ukraine.

At the beginning of September, Kamyshyn was dismissed from his position as the Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine. Similar talks are ongoing around Rustem Umyerov. And the main complaint from President Zelenskyy to these two officials is simple – their teams failed to supply the army with ammunition.

Now both the Ministry of Strategic Industries and the Ministry of Defence are trying to maintain a good "mask" while playing a bad game – but the front still doesn’t receive actual mines.

From May, June, July, and August, the state-owned Pavlohrad Chemical Plant was supposed to deliver 250,000 120-mm mortar shots to the military, but shipped... just under 17,000! This despite the fact that the Ministry of Strategic Industries’ plant received billions of hryvnias in advance payment on time. Although it is very strange that the state decided to allocate such funds to an enterprise whose main capacities were still in the frontline zone until the beginning of 2024…

In the first quarter of 2024, the Defence Procurement Agency signed record-breaking contracts with the state-owned "Artem" and Pavlohrad Chemical Plant for the supply of ammunition and paid tens of billions of hryvnias in advance. Needless to say, almost all contracts are now failing, which is felt at the front? Hundreds of thousands of 122 mm and 152 mm artillery shots. Almost 2 million 82 mm and 120 mm mortar shots. Everything should be delivered by the end of 2024, and the first deliveries were supposed to start in May… Did the Agency check the real capabilities of these two state-owned plants?

The own enterprises of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine "are not lagging behind" either – the state-owned "Spetstehnoexport" received almost 700 million hryvnias in advance payment at the beginning of February for the delivery of 80,000 foreign mortar shots for 120-mm mortars... And, as you have probably guessed, has yet to deliver any.

«Victory on the battlefield begins in the factory» - this slogan was seen by the Ukrainian delegation at the ammunition factory in Pennsylvania during a recent visit. It seems the Ukrainian factory victory is delayed…

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to an ammunition factory in the USA

Author: Ihor Murynets