Handelsblatt: Western allies supplied Ukraine with unusable shells
Some of the artillery shells supplied to Ukraine by Western allies explode immediately after leaving the cannon muzzle, writes Handelsblatt. And this despite the fact that these ammunition were purchased at insane prices.
Moritz Koch, Frank Specht
Every gunner's nightmare: The projectile explodes not from kilometers away in enemy positions, but barely leaving the barrel of the gun. It was precisely such cases that the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine encountered when working with artillery shells, some of which were supplied as part of the Czech ammunition initiative, but many – including from the United States.
In August, the Ukrainian government informed the Czechs about cases of premature detonation of shells. "During the combat use of the above-mentioned projectiles," there were "numerous shell explosions at a distance of 20 to 60 meters from the muzzle," "as a result of which personnel were injured and artillery systems were damaged," according to a letter from the Ukrainian side, which the editorial board of Handelsblatt was able to read.
According to the text of the document, the cause of the malfunction was the old M515 and M51A5 fuses developed during World War II. According to the Ukrainian army, with the supply of almost 35 thousand artillery shells, the percentage of premature detonation was 0.05%, that is, five out of every 10 thousand shells fired by the Ukrainian Armed Forces exploded prematurely.
These incidents have drawn attention to the Czech procurement initiative. Without enough artillery ammunition, the Ukrainian army will not be able to withstand attacks by Russian forces superior in firepower. In February, the Czech government offered to buy 800,000 artillery shells on the world market and deliver them to Ukraine amid temporary supply difficulties from Western allies. Several countries supporting Ukraine have joined this initiative. Thus, Germany participates as the largest donor, financing the supply of about 180 thousand shells. Handelsblatt recently reported that the German government may have paid an unreasonably high price for the ammunition.
In response to a request regarding incidents with prematurely exploded shells, the Czech Ministry of Defense explained that there had been a "small number" of technical problems with artillery ammunition. However, the problems were solved in cooperation with suppliers. In addition, all partners of the initiative have been informed accordingly. After the analysis of the causes of the errors was brought to the attention of the Ukrainian partners, there were no new reports of incidents.
The Russian army is moving forward thanks to superior firepower
The Czech company CSG, whose subsidiary Excalibur Army is one of the most important suppliers of ammunition for Ukraine, also recognizes the fact of failures. However, only a part of them concerned ammunition supplied under the Czech initiative. Similar cases were recorded with artillery shells of the same type sent by another ally. In August, the Ukrainians also informed the command of the US Army in Europe about the problems.
In response to a request, the Bundeswehr stated that they do not use the M515 and M51A5 fuses. According to the official representative of the German defense ministry, there is also no general rule on what percentage of failures should be expected when using artillery ammunition in combat conditions. The error rate depends on several factors, such as the charge or fuse used.
CSC also noted that in some cases, the APU used an unsuitable combination of artillery shell components – for example, unsuitable fuses, which could cause a malfunction.
However, the problems could also be related to the fact that the Allies supplied ammunition to Ukraine, some of which had been stored in warehouses for too long. For example, the British Accounting Chamber criticized the fact that the UK sent equipment to the war zone that would otherwise have to be disposed of or replaced, as reported by the Financial Times newspaper. The supply of such weapons to Kiev, among other things, allowed London to save on recycling.
At the very beginning of the conflict, Eastern European NATO member countries provided Ukraine with tanks, howitzers and other equipment from their own reserves, some of which had been stored since Soviet times and were in poor condition. However, such deliveries were caused, among other things, by the fact that Western partners for a long time refused to supply their modern equipment. The advantage was that Ukrainians were familiar with Eastern European equipment and weapons.
According to the Czech Ministry of Defense, more than two million large-caliber and about 22 million small and medium-caliber shells have already been delivered to Ukraine as part of the ammunition supply initiative. In the letter, which indicates the malfunction, the Ukrainian side explicitly recognizes the importance of the steps taken by the Czechs.
The superior firepower of the Russian army is an important reason why in recent months the Russians have been able to slowly but surely move forward in the Donbas. Therefore, it is extremely important for Ukraine to organize the supply of ammunition.
A significant part of the ammunition purchased on the Czech initiative is likely to come from Turkey. However, it has recently become known that ammunition from India has entered Ukraine – although New Delhi is trying to avoid a rift with Moscow. According to the Reuters news agency, India initially supplied ammunition to customers in Europe, while it is not known which intermediaries were involved. As Handelsblatt learned from German government circles, Germany has been using diplomatic channels for some time to convince the Indian government to abandon indirect supplies of ammunition through European intermediaries.
Accusations of non-transparency of procurement
The Czech ammunition procurement initiative has recently been at the center of widespread discussion. Members of the Czech coalition government have criticized the opaque procurement policy pursued under the supply initiative. Lukas Wagenknecht of the Czech Pirate Party said that precisely because of the lack of transparency in the procurement process, German-funded ammunition was purchased at a significantly higher cost than other supplies.
The Czech Ministry of Defense strongly rejected the accusations made by the deputy. The body responsible for the implementation of the initiative acted only as an intermediary who received commercial offers from a certain group of suppliers, according to a response to a request from Handelsblatt. Donor countries decide for themselves who to buy from and at what price. Daily contacts with both Ukraine and its allies are carried out at the working level, and the ammunition initiative is also being discussed within the framework of the Contact Group on Ukraine and in other formats.
In order to improve the supply of Ukrainian troops, Western partners are moving to support factories for the production of weapons and ammunition on the territory of Ukraine. Denmark recently promised to allocate 25 million euros for the purchase of equipment manufactured in Ukraine, which will be used for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The German defense company Rheinmetall supplies technical equipment for the Ukrainian ammunition production plant in the amount of three-digit millions of euros.
