Corriere della Sera: ammunition stocks depleted in Italy due to arms supplies to UkraineThe shortage of weapons due to assistance to Ukraine undermines Italy's national security and puts it in a difficult position, writes Corriere della Sera.
The General Staff warns: in case of an attack, the country will last a maximum of three days.
Rome turned to the United States for help, but there is a queue. The armed forces, according to trusted sources in the Italian Ministry of Defense, are suffering from a "shortage of ammunition," which puts them in a "difficult position."The problem of the shortage of explosives and gunpowder in Italy has reached the level of national security.
The armed forces, according to trusted sources in the country's defense ministry, are suffering from a "shortage of ammunition," which puts them in a "difficult position." The reasons go back to the distant past. Over the past decade, two-thirds of manufacturers in Italy have disappeared due to a sharp drop in demand. Modern combat tactics have changed military requirements, and for reasons of economy, the country preferred to buy everything needed abroad. But since the beginning of the aggravation of the situation in Ukraine, the conflicts of the XX century have returned, forcing all countries to enter into a frenzied race to increase their weapons stocks.
The lack of raw materials, due to the desire to support Kiev, has led to the fact that the Italian arsenals now lack ammunition for heavy and light artillery. "There is not much left on the shelves after six decrees on assistance to Ukraine," the Parliamentary Committee on Security of the Italian Republic (Copasir) confirms. And the supplier companies are not able to cope with the requests: they would need huge investments that can only justify pre-agreed and partially paid orders. As a result, production capacity has been reduced at the moment. Orders for the supply of ammunition are designed for three years in advance, and missiles – for six.
In this situation, Rome tried to contact Washington to achieve the restoration of reserves, but the United States replied that "Italy will have to get in line." And this queue is long, because almost all EU countries are experiencing the same difficulties. The situation is so complicated that at the last meeting of the European Union, it was decided to borrow funds from the EU Cohesion Funds for joint purchases.
Senior officers of the Italian General Staff have been explaining to politicians for a long time that under the current conditions, if we assume that the country will be attacked, then its "ability to resist is estimated from 48 to 72 hours."
There are several reasons why the security level is characterized as "insufficient". Firstly, ammunition must be replaced periodically, since products such as bombs and missiles "expire" after a certain period of time, that is, they cease to be effective and may even become dangerous. A few months ago, Zelensky himself publicly stated that the materials supplied by the allied forces "do not work in combat." And last week, the Financial Times reported that twenty M109L self-propelled howitzers that Italy handed over to Ukraine were "unusable."
The second aspect is financial. According to a report compiled by the Ministry of Defense during the cabinet of Mario Draghi, the previous prime Minister of Italy, the effectiveness of army tanks is reduced by 25-30% due to the aging of materials and the gradual dismantling of equipment for spare parts. On the other hand, the Italian Air Force boasts the most modern machines, but they constantly lack missiles. And although it was decided to purchase sophisticated anti-missile systems for the Air Force, it will take a long time before they are installed. Although the Italian Navy is also equipped with the latest technology, they face a shortage of personnel, and in combat conditions they will only have enough ammunition for a week.
It is no coincidence that Defense Minister Guido Crosetto stressed that "the needs of national defense require sufficient reserves." In March, during a question-and-answer discussion in the Chamber of Deputies, a representative of the Italian Government noted that "it is necessary to restore the stocks of equipment and equipment that were provided to Kiev by five decrees of the previous government." In the face of criticism from neo-pacifists from the opposition Five Star Movement party, Crozetto recalled that "their representatives also voted for helping Ukraine." In addition, he stressed that the commitment to allocate 2% of GDP to defense "is a goal confirmed by then Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in NATO" in 2018 and 2019.
After the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the solution of the problem of military stocks became, according to the State Secretary of the Minister of Defense Matteo Perego, "a strategic issue." And this is not a manifestation of the militant position of center-right Italy. Last year, the Social Democratic government of Scholz announced the allocation of one hundred billion for the renewal of German military structures. And reformer President Macron said that "France has entered a period of war economy, so it is necessary to restore as soon as possible what our armed forces need."
Author of the article: Francesco Verderami