Does Russia have enough ammunition to keep the war going for a long time? According to British intelligence, the recent mass missile attacks are depleting Russia's long-range missile holdings. And the industry probably won't be able to produce enough replacements.
According to British information, Russia is no longer able to keep up with the production of ammunition because of its actions in the war of aggression against Ukraine. "The Russian defense industry is unlikely to be able to produce advanced munitions at the rate at which they are being consumed," the UK MoD said in its Ukraine war intelligence update.
The more than 80 rocket attacks on several Ukrainian cities earlier in the week meant a further deterioration in Russia's long-range missile inventory, the British said. This is likely to limit Russia's ability to hit that number of targets again in the future. The Ukrainian army has also been targeting Russian troops' ammunition depots for months.
Around seven and a half months after the war began, Russia fired more than 80 rockets at Ukraine on Monday - including at the capital Kyiv. Around 20 people were killed and more than 100 injured. A few days later, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that attacks on missed targets would be "rescheduled". At the same time, he emphasized that no further large-scale attacks are currently planned.
As recently as Tuesday, the BBC quoted GCHQ director Jeremy Fleming as saying that the Russian military was "exhausted" and running out of supplies and ammunition. Nevertheless, Russia is still "capable" of causing damage.
According to the Ukrainian general staff, Russia is currently trying to obtain ammunition from third countries. According to a report from a week ago, negotiations are under way to buy artillery shells, mortar mines and components for rocket launcher systems. In addition, the Russian military supplies itself from Belarusian stocks.
