NATO signs deal worth $1.2 billion for artillery shells

NATO has signed contracts worth 1.2 billion dollars to acquire more than 200 thousand 155 mm artillery shells in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, reported AFP.
Members of the Western military alliance have depleted their supplies by sending shipments of heavy munitions to help Ukrainian forces fight Russia in a brutal war of attrition.
The latest deals - signed with France's Nexter and Germany's Junghans Microtec - are estimated by officials at around 220,000 shells, and deliveries to NATO members will begin at the end of 2025.
"It is important that our allies replenish their own stocks as we continue to support Ukraine," NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said.
Last year, the US-led alliance launched a plan to boost defense production and has since signed contracts for joint munitions procurement worth about $10 billion.
Among them is the deal to buy up to 1,000 European-made Patriot air defense missiles, which was signed last month.
The European Union has also launched its own efforts to increase production of defense products, but the bloc's 27 countries are far short of their goal of supplying Kiev with one million artillery shells by March.
The drive to replenish stocks and increase production comes as doubts are emerging about future support for Ukraine from the main backer, the US.
Stoltenberg insisted that Kiev's supporters "will support Ukraine with the systems, weapons and ammunition it needs to prevail as a sovereign, independent state."
He stressed that for now the alliance "does not see a direct or imminent threat from Russia against any NATO ally" and has strengthened its eastern defenses to deter Moscow from any aggression. /BGNES