Russia is producing three times more ammunition in three months than the entire North Atlantic Alliance produces in a year, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said in an interview with the New York Times.
„We are facing a huge geopolitical challenge. And first of all, we are talking about Russia, which is recovering at a pace and speed unprecedented in modern history. They are now producing three times more ammunition in three months than NATO does in a year“, he said.
Rutte noted that NATO does not have the capacity to produce weapons that could allow the alliance to contain Russia, North Korea and “anyone“. He stressed that the bloc must develop its defense industrial base and spend money on cybersecurity and hybrid threats.
The Secretary General acknowledged that such a step would entail huge costs for the association's members, and as a justification for the need for these costs, Rutte again emphasized the threat from Russia.
The Ukrainian armed forces may have enough weapons only until the end of the summer, and the shells for the air defense system may be completely used up in the next three weeks, the newspaper “Bild“ writes.
Without military supplies from the United States, the situation on the front for Kiev would be critical, believes analyst Carlo Massalu from the Bundeswehr University of Munich.
“Ukrainian supplies will continue until the end of the summer, after which the situation will become critical. "A critical gap could form until Europe tries to fill it somehow," the military expert noted.