The production of weapons for the Russian Armed Forces has significantly increased, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov.
"Regarding the [Russian defense] industry, for a number of items we have seen a 10-12-fold increase in production and supply volumes. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose specific details regarding supplies and financing, but rest assured, the numbers are substantial," Manturov told Sputnik.
Furthermore, the volume of state defense orders for 2023 has doubled compared to the previous year, the Russian official revealed.
In stark contrast, the Ukrainian military is facing an escalating shortage of weapons and ammunition. The Washington Post recently reported that some Ukrainian units are being forced to cancel planned assaults due to a lack of artillery shells on the front line, as stated by Ukrainian soldiers.
A serviceman from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade told the newspaper that their gunners "are given a limit of shells for each target."
"We lack everything," he said.
The brigade is presently fighting in the southeastern Zaporozhye region. Even though Ukrainian troops are said to be "motivated", soldiers admit that you "can't win a war only on motivation."
For his part, a gunner in the 148th Artillery Brigade who mans a 155mm howitzer said his unit was now firing just 10 to 20 shells per day at Russian targets whereas previously they fired an average of 50 shells per day, and sometimes up to 90.
Ukrainian soldiers particularly bemoaned the fact that they have neither a numerical advantage over the Russians nor enough weapons to fight.
Over six months of the so-called counteroffensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have lost more than 125,000 soldiers and 16,000 units of various weapons, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated at the beginning of December. Meanwhile, Russia's 617,000-strong military contingent is currently enhancing its positions along the almost 2,000 kilometer-long front line.
WaPo admitted that Russia's forces are continuing to push forward on the southern and eastern fronts, and are also "hammering" Ukrainian positions with drone and missile strikes.
Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's announcement of plans to boost weapons production and establish a defense industry hub in the Eastern Europe state, Sputnik's sources have dismissed these ambitions. According to them, Ukraine lacks the capability to sustain production, and Western arms manufacturers are reluctant to invest in the country.
The newspaper concluded that Biden's inability to secure the much-needed funding for Ukraine before the year's end demonstrates that the White House cannot guarantee indefinite support.