As Kyiv launches a counteroffensive that is suffering mounting material losses, its NATO allies are under pressure to replace Western weapons destroyed on the battlefield in the long term and to provide vast amounts of ammunition without affecting their own armies, according to data AFP.

Displaying trophy photos of damaged or abandoned American and German tanks in recent days, Russia claims to have destroyed between 25% and 30% of Western weapons received by Ukraine. This figure is undoubtedly greatly overestimated, but it is impossible to independently verify it.

The only thing that is reliable is that, faced with minefields and ferocious Russian artillery, Ukrainian troops will logically suffer losses while trying to break through the enemy’s defenses. And this is only the beginning, because Kyiv is far from throwing all its forces into battle.

According to the specialized website Oryx, which records these losses with photos and videos taken on the battlefield, Kyiv lost 4 newly delivered German Leopard tanks, 2 French AMX-10 RC FR reconnaissance tanks and more than 70 Western armored tanks.

“The struggle will undoubtedly intensify. The summer will be very uncomfortable for Ukraine’s international partners. Losses will increase, and success will take time,” warns Jack Watling from the British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).

“It is vital that the training programs of Ukrainian units continue and that the defense industry mobilizes to provide Ukraine with military equipment in the long term,” adding that Ukraine is completely dependent on its allies in this regard.

Despite Europe’s efforts to accelerate the pace of production, some countries have already warned of their limitations. “We will not be able to replace every tank that no longer works,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Monday.

The issue of supplying Ukrainian forces was at the center of a meeting of the contact group on Ukraine issues in Brussels on Thursday, with the participation of defense industrialists on the eve of a meeting of NATO defense ministers.

Double production effort

“We are looking at how we can continue to provide assistance to Ukraine while maintaining our own defense capabilities,” sums up a source in the European government.

The United States kicked things off on Tuesday by pledging an additional $325 million in military aid, including armored vehicles and Ukrainian air defense systems.

Further announcements may be made at the next NATO summit in Vilnius on July 11 and 12.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted on Thursday that “there is an urgent need to support them” during their offensive in an interview with France 5’s “C dans l’air”.

“And we will most likely undertake a long-term program of support for Ukraine at the (Vilnius) summit,” he added.

As for munitions, in early May the European Commission unveiled a €500 million plan to accelerate the pace of EU production to one million rounds per year.

“We are doubling our efforts in the production of ammunition for tanks,” Harald Weissmuller, director of the Rheinmetall plant in Unterluss, Lower Saxony, Germany, recently told AFP.

Armaments Group, a leading European manufacturer of ammunition for tanks and artillery, fully manages the country’s largest defense industrial complex to meet the needs of armored vehicles and ammunition for the Ukrainian front and replenish supplies for NATO member countries.

The Unterlüss plant’s flagship product is the 120mm shells for the armored Leopard 2, the German battle tank that Berlin agreed to supply to Kyiv this year after months of hesitation.

Production rates increased from 60,000 units per year before Russia’s war against Ukraine to 240,000.

Another key issue is the maintenance of Western equipment, which must be quickly repaired and returned to the battlefield.

According to the Ukrainian media, Berlin and Warsaw are close to concluding an agreement on the creation of a service center in Poland for the repair of Leopard tanks damaged at the Ukrainian TVD.

Similar centers already exist in Slovakia and Romania.

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