There will be shortage of ammunition on both sides next year - military expert Zgurets

Serhiy Zgurets, Defense Express CEO, told Espreso TV channel.

"We need to speed up the work of the defense industry in all countries. But this will only gain momentum at the end of next year. Therefore, next year will be tangible in terms of weapons needs and will be associated with shortages and deficits. When we talk about increasing the production of ammunition, only at the end of 2024 will Europeans and Americans reach a quantity of about 200 thousand per month, while now these figures are much lower," Zgurets said.

Summarizing the above, the analyst explained that the use of the US Army's stockpiles or the expansion of ATACMS use will be important in the future. This will affect the nature of combat operations.

ATACMS for Ukraine: what is known

On April 19, the United States announced another USD 325 million military aid package to Ukraine, which included HIMARS and artillery shells.

At the end of May, representatives of the US Congress called on Biden to send the missiles to Ukraine. In a letter addressed to the US President, the leaders of the bipartisan Helsinki Commission called on the White House to authorize the delivery of the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to Ukraine.

On June 10, members of both parties in the US House of Representatives introduced a resolution calling on Joe Biden to send ATACMS to Ukraine.

On June 21, the House Foreign Affairs Committee supported a resolution to Biden calling for the immediate delivery of ATACMS to Ukraine.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is close to making a decision to provide Ukraine with long-range tactical missile systems ATACMS.

The WP reported that the US does not have enough ATACMS missiles to provide them to Ukraine. 

On September 9, it was reported that the United States may provide missiles to Ukraine in the next aid package.

On September 12, media reported that the Biden administration was close to approving the supply of longer-range missiles to Ukraine, which are immediately equipped with cluster munitions.

On September 15, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine is close to receiving ATACMS missiles from the United States this fall.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on September 15, that the Ukrainian military will use US missiles as they see appropriate. 

During the talks in the White House on September 22, US President Joe Biden has reportedly assured Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Ukraine would receive a small number of ATACMS missiles.

On September 28, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the supply of long-range missiles to Ukraine was discussed during a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, US President Joe Biden, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last week.

On October 3, Bloomberg reported that the Pentagon is ready to provide Ukraine with ATACMS missiles very quickly – they are only waiting for the final approval of US President Joe Biden.