Russia has rebuilt its military machine too quickly and is now producing artillery shells at a frantic pace

Lithuanian Defence Minister Laurinas Kasciunas said that Russia has successfully restored its "military" economy and is now producing much more artillery ammunition than before the war in Ukraine

Here's What We Know

Kasciunas explained that before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Moscow was producing up to 400,000 152mm shells a year, but this figure has increased to 2 million rounds a year.

"They're moving pretty fast," Kasciunas said during a roundtable discussion organised by POLITICO and German broadcaster Welt at the NATO summit in Washington.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken significant steps to put the country's economy in what experts have described as "Soviet-style" martial law. In the spring, for example, he reshuffled Moscow's military leadership to increase production of the defence industrial base and support massive weapons production.

Despite international efforts to put economic pressure on Russia, Kasciunas said that Moscow's "wartime economy" has recovered "faster than we expected." Senior U.S. officials and generals have expressed similar assessments of the country's military power.

The increase in artillery shell capacity is a key indicator. Moscow's production of 152mm shells surpasses that of 155mm shells by NATO countries. In Europe, for example, the annual production of this type of artillery ammunition is less than 600,000 shells, and in the United States, it is 350,000.

The Lithuanian Defence Minister added that Putin has invested significant resources in the war. It is known that we are talking about almost 7% of GDP allocated for military spending.

Source: Business Insider