2023-07-10
EU - Since the February 2022 invasion, Ukraine's five main military partners alone (US, Germany, UK, Poland, and the Netherlands) pledged more than 60 billion euros worth of weapons. Deliveries that punched deep holes in the ammunition stocks of NATO countries. The stockpiles remain empty.
To find out how this is possible, a collective of investigative journalists spoke with dozens of insiders over the past few months: diplomats who were present at crucial moments in Brussels’ back rooms, military personnel who gave early warnings of shortages, arms manufacturers who can no longer cope with the demand, and soldiers on the front lines in Ukraine - the men and women who have to fight despite the lack of sufficient weapons.
A reconstruction based on their experiences exposes the weaknesses in Europe's defense: a wait-and-see arms industry that refuses to take financial risks, national interests that frustrate quick decision-making, and a multitude of procedures and standards that get in the way of effective use of munitions.
This investigation was done by The Investigative Desk and Lighthouse Reports in cooperation with Delfi Estonia and The Kyiv Independent.
Team members
Supported
€7.800 allocated on 07/06/2023ID
ECB/2023/826Tags
ONLINE
- Waarom het Europa niet lukt om Oekraïne van voldoende munitie te voorzien, Follow the Money, 10/07/2023.
- Investigation: EU inability to ramp up production behind acute ammunition shortages in Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent, 10/07/2023.
- Papeleo, armas que no encajan y almacenes medio vacíos: por qué la UE no logra abastecer de munición a Ucrania, El Diario, 10/07/2023.
- „Seis on päriselt väga halb.“ Euroopa laskemoonalaod on moonast hõredad, tootmist ei suudeta piisavalt kasvatada, Delfi, 10/07/2023.
- Ukraine : derrière la pénurie de munitions, les failles de l’industrie européenne, Libération, 10/07/2023.
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