European states gather Soviet-style artillery rounds for Ukraine

MILAN — Several European nations have sourced hundreds of thousands of 122-millimeter artillery rounds from abroad to donate to Ukraine, a move that experts say will help bridge Kyiv’s ammunition shortage against invading Russian forces during a critical time of the war.

The latest military package bound for Ukraine, announced this month by the German government, included over 120,000 artillery projectiles of the Soviet-standard caliber. The Berlin government specified that the deliveries were coming from industry stocks financed with public funds.

Local newspaper Der Spiegel reported that rounds were ordered from Bulgaria, a key producer of this type of ammunition in Europe.

“Most of Ukraine’s artillery is still from the Soviet era – standards were 122mm, 130mm and 152mm, so getting more of this caliber ammunition for Kyiv is valuable,” Mark Cancian, senior adviser for the international security program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, said.

Ukrainian forces still rely on older equipment, including the D-30 or 2S1 Gvozdika howitzers, which can only fire non-NATO rounds.

At the Munich Conference, the President of the Czech Republic, Petr Pavel, said his government was also able to source nearly one million rounds from abroad, including 800,000 of the 155mm type and 300,000 of the 122mm type.

He added that the ammunition could be sent swiftly to the embattled country if funding was secured from other allies.

“Buying ammunition on the world market makes a lot of sense because of limits on what Europe and the U.S. can produce – Washington has done a lot of that already, having provided 200,000 152mm, 40,000 130mm, and 40,000 of 122mm type,” Cancian said.

A recent report by the CSIS think tank noted that shortages of Soviet-standard shells – 122mm and 152mmm – have gradually decreased the value of Soviet-era artillery.

While the United States has scouted the globe to buy this type of ammunition, Cancian says that some states may just be more inclined to sell it to nations other than the U.S.

“There are likely some countries who will sell to the Czech Republic but not the U.S. and who may also want to remain anonymous,” he said.

Nick Reynolds, research fellow for land warfare at the London-based RUSI think tank, said Ukraine should still strive to convert its artillery equipment to the NATO standard over time, as newer munitions are superior in explosive power, range and accuracy.

But, he added, “the scale of the war and the material requirements are enormous. Ukraine is firing 155mm shells and wearing out 155mm barrels far faster than either can be produced in Europe.”

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——一些欧洲国家从国外采购了数十万发122毫米炮弹捐赠给乌克兰，专家表示，此举将有助于缓解基辅在战争关键时期面对俄罗斯入侵军队时的弹药短缺问题。

德国政府本月宣布，最新一批运往乌克兰的军事物资包括超过12万发苏联标准口径的炮弹。柏林政府明确表示，这些物资来自公共资金资助的工业库存。

当地报纸《明镜周刊》报道称，子弹是从保加利亚订购的，保加利亚是欧洲此类弹药的主要生产国。

“乌克兰的大部分火炮仍然是苏联时代的产物——标准口径为 122 毫米、130 毫米和 152 毫米，因此，为基辅获得更多这种口径的弹药是有价值的，”华盛顿战略与国际研究中心国际安全项目高级顾问马克·坎西安说。

乌克兰军队仍然依赖较老的装备，包括只能发射非北约弹药的 D-30 或 2S1“康乃馨”榴弹炮。

在慕尼黑会议上，捷克共和国总统彼得·帕维尔表示，捷克政府也能够从国外采购近100万发炮弹，其中包括80万发155毫米炮弹和30万发122毫米炮弹。

他还补充说，如果能从其他盟友那里获得资金，这些弹药就可以迅速运往这个饱受战火蹂躏的国家。

“由于欧洲和美国的生产能力有限，从世界市场上购买弹药非常有意义——华盛顿已经做了很多这方面的工作，提供了 20 万发 152 毫米弹药、4 万发 130 毫米弹药和 4 万发 122 毫米弹药，”坎西安说。

战略与国际研究中心 (CSIS) 最近的一份报告指出，苏联标准炮弹（122 毫米和 152 毫米）的短缺逐渐降低了苏联时代火炮的价值。

尽管美国已在全球范围内搜寻此类弹药，但坎西安表示，一些州可能更倾向于将其出售给美国以外的国家。

他说：“可能有一些国家会向捷克共和国出售商品，但不会向美国出售，而且这些国家可能也希望保持匿名。”

伦敦皇家联合军种研究所（RUSI）陆地战争研究员尼克·雷诺兹表示，乌克兰仍应努力逐步将其火炮装备换成北约标准，因为新型弹药在爆炸威力、射程和精度方面都更胜一筹。

但他补充说，“战争规模和物资需求都非常巨大。乌克兰发射155毫米炮弹和消耗155毫米炮管的速度远远超过欧洲的生产能力。”

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。