The Russian military could experience massive weapons shortages before the end of the year as it continues its military occupation of Ukraine, several international media outlets reported, posing additional problems for its army, which has struggled to maintain a foothold.
Latvia-based Insider reported that recent sanctions against Russia and successful counter-offensives by Ukrainian troops have led to a rapid decline in its stockpiles of artillery shells and vehicles armored vehicles, while their ability to conduct airstrikes and fire guided missiles will likely run out by the end of the year.
With Russia’s inability to replenish weapons, coupled with its current rate of fire, Insider estimated that the army should run out of weapons by the end of the year, adding to a series of public blunders by the army that have included vehicle losses in the thousands and mounting casualties.
“By being deprived of the supply of western equipment, spare parts and materials and at the same time limited in terms of human capital and labor productivity, manufacturers Russian artillery and ammunition supplies will inevitably face for the foreseeable future not so much a stagnation as production cuts,” the outlet reported.
“It is possible that in 2023-2023 there is still they can maintain the production rates gained in previous years, but in subsequent years, their decline is inevitable”, he assured.
It is not the first time that independent media have reported that the stock of weapons of Russia is declining.
Reports in May questioned the depth of Russia’s guided missile supply as attacks in Ukraine began to taper off at the start of the summer, while US Department of Defense officials said as early as March they believed that Russian forces were having ammunition supply problems while Ukraine is receiving more weapons, such as “VAMPIRE” weapon systems.
In recent weeks, European intelligence officials discovered that Russia has begun importing supplies from other sources.
This is announced a week after Russian President Vladimir Putin unveiled a new initiative that seeks to strengthen the country’s military ranks with 80,000 to 1.15 millions of soldiers, an effort to replace the 60 ,000 a 80,000 estimated Russian casualties in the war so far.
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