NATO to urge Allies to increase ammunition stockpiles amid depleting reserves

According to Reuters reports, even before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, many NATO countries failed to meet the alliance's arms buildup targets, as it was believed that wars of attrition with large-scale artillery battles were a thing of the past.

However, the pace of deliveries to Ukraine has depleted Western stockpiles and exposed gaps in supply chain efficiency, speed, and human resources.

“If Europe were to fight Russia, some countries would run out of ammunition in days,” a European diplomat told Reuters.

NATO has just completed an extraordinary inventory of its remaining ammunition stockpile, a NATO official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

“Those NATO (munitions targets) that we set, and each ally has a specific target, those were not being met for the most part (before the Ukraine war),” the official said.

The publication adds that now the stockpiles have decreased even further, so it is likely that NATO will raise the target levels of ammunition stocks for its members, the source said.

“I would be absolutely gobsmacked if the targets…were not increased,” said the NATO official.

The amount of ammunition remaining in Western military depots is closely classified. The same applies to NATO's stockpile targets, which are unique to each member state and one of the Alliance's best kept secrets.

In principle, NATO assigns to each member state specific capabilities that the Alliance can use in the event of a confrontation.

In addition, according to a defense ministry source, Germany alone was EUR 20 billion short of its pre-invasion NATO target.

According to a NATO source, there was also a shortage of essential weapons, ranging from 155mm shells used in howitzers to HIMARS missiles and ammunition for air defense systems such as IRIS-T, Patriot and Gepard, which are widely used by Ukrainian troops.

It is expected that the decision on the purpose of these stockpiles, in particular, will be made during the NATO leaders' summit in Lithuania in mid-July.