Ukraine war: '40-year-old' ammo, EU increases war kitty, 'suppression' of Russian opposition
Russia is turning to decades-old ammunition with high failure rates, a senior US military official said on Monday.
"They [Moscow] have drawn from ageing ammunition stockpiles, which does indicate that they are willing to use older ammunition, some of which was originally produced more than 40 years ago," said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Their comments indicate that Russian forces are running out of stockpiles as the grinding Ukraine invasion enters its 10th month.
The senior military official assessed that Russia would burn through its fully-serviceable stocks of ammunition by early 2023 if it did not resort to foreign suppliers and older stocks.
The United States accuses Russia of turning to Iran and North Korea for more firepower as it exhausts its regular supplies of ammunition.
Using older stocks carries risks, the official said.
"In other words, you load the ammunition and you cross your fingers and hope it's going to fire or when it lands that it's going to explode," they told Reuters.
Iran has supplied Russia with military drones, which are inflicting a heavy toll on civilians in Ukraine by knocking out the country's power supply for prolonged periods.
Yesterday more than 1.5 million homes were without power in Odesa, following Russian strikes.
Moscow is also attempting to obtain hundreds of ballistic missiles from Iran and offering Tehran an unprecedented level of military and technical support in return, Britain's UN envoy said on Friday.
Barbara Woodward also said Britain was "almost certain that Russia is seeking to source weaponry from North Korea (and) other heavily sanctioned states, as their own stocks palpably dwindle."
A Frenchman wounded fighting with Ukrainian soldiers at the
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