russia is producing artillery shells three times faster and at a quarter of the cost compared to Ukraine's Western partners.
The figures, produced by the management consulting firm Bain & Company, underline a major challenge faced by the Ukrainian armed forces as they rely on supplies of ammunition from the United States and Europe to battle russia's full-scale invasion, reports Sky News.
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According to the analysis, russia plans to produce 4.5 million rounds of ammunition in 2024. However, it is unclear what proportion of the total number is refurbished and produced.
In contrast, the United States and European countries plan to produce 1.3 million shells, which is three times less than russia's projected output.
On cost, it said the average production cost per 155 mm shell - the type produced by NATO countries - was about $4,000 per unit. This is compared with a reported russian production cost of around $1,000 per 152 mm shell that the russian armed forces use.
As a result, Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline say for every one round they fire against russian positions, the invading troops can launch around five shells back.
Battling against the odds, the Ukrainians say they have become skilled at trying to make every round count.
"Often, with just one, two or three shells, we can completely destroy a target," said an artillery battery commander with the 57th Brigade, which is fighting against a new russian invasion into the Kharkiv region, in the northeast of Ukraine.
Sky News reports that Ukraine is facing shortages beyond just artillery shells. The outlet notes that Ukrainian soldiers training in Britain have to simulate firing N-LAW missiles from anti-tank grenade launchers due to insufficient ammunition.
"We have a lack of N-LAWs, and we need more," said a soldier with the callsign "Bolt", who was giving the training to the new soldiers in a reconnaissance battalion of 5th Brigade.
Asked whether he had a message for the factory workers in the UK who assembled the weapon, Bolt said: "We'd like to thank our Western partners for their help. But, if possible, we would be very grateful if they could provide more NATO munitions."
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