Recent reports indicate that the Russian military is experiencing a "munitions hunger," a situation they have not faced before, primarily due to effective Ukrainian strikes on critical ammunition depots.
Disrupted Supply
According to the Ukrainian portal Defence Express and WP, pro-war Russian blogger Yegor Guzenko has shared insights about this concerning trend.
In September, Ukrainian forces targeted significant ammunition stockpiles in Toropets and the vicinity of Tikhoretsk in Krasnodar Krai.
The destruction of these sites is believed to have disrupted Russia’s supply of artillery and missile munitions, leading military experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) to suggest that such losses would likely affect Russian operations in the near future.
Military expert Yevhen Dykyi has explicitly stated that temporary shortages in ammunition among Russian units fighting in Ukraine are plausible, a grim reality that appears to be unfolding.
Russia Used to Have Upper Hand
Historically, Russia has had the upper hand in artillery firepower, largely due to its vast stockpiles and additional supplies from allies like Iran and North Korea. Interestingly, North Korean missiles were reportedly stored in the destroyed Russian depots.
Following the attacks, the Ukrainian command reported that these depots held not only artillery shells but also missiles for the S-300 and S-400 systems, including Russian Iskanders and North Korean KN-23 missiles.
The Iskander and KN-23 are short-range ballistic missiles with ranges of approximately 500 km (310 miles) and 600 km (372 miles), respectively. Meanwhile, Russia relies on 122 mm and 152 mm artillery shells, while Ukraine utilizes 155 mm NATO-standard ammunition for its artillery systems.
