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RheagarTargaryen t1_j1yzjns wrote

> No, I do not have such detailed information about as we are well aware, Russia is using the ammunition in line with the old standards: 152mm and 122mm ammunition, so it may be able to restore it or it may be receiving it from North Korea. We should also count ammunition from Belarus, from which Russia has taken more than 20,000 tons of ammunition. We don’t know how large stocks are in Belarus, but by transferring its armored equipment and ammunition to Russia, Belarus remains a major resource.

So his skepticism is based on the fact that Belarus and North Korea could also be supplying them? Well that’s something.

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frizzykid t1_j1z52k6 wrote

I feel like the "Russia is going to run out of ammo" is all spin from media headlines. I don't think any of the military leaders/analysts of the world have said Russia will run out of ammo on any level outside of their more sophisticated stuff that require western tech. It's a big deal still but I feel like I see a lot of headlines trying to spin it as if Russia won't be able to keep firing shit at Ukraine for much longer and that probably isn't true.

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FredTheLynx t1_j1zims7 wrote

No one knowledgeable is saying they will run out in the sense they have to stop fighting because they have no ammo.

Some people are saying they will become constrained in terms of what they can do, when and at what scale because they will become more reliant on new production and less able to draw down from preexisting stocks.

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DharmaBat t1_j20wzw4 wrote

Hell, considering they disarmed nuke rockets/missiles to use them as conventional weapons it's clear the supplies are strained.

They will keep fighting as Russian history has shown that a lack of supply won't stop me. But their combat capability will be significantly lowered to a point that might as well stop.

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pmmichalowski t1_j1zi8wk wrote

Russia is running out of ammunition was a logistic issue due to overextension and lack of preparation in push model of Russian army. News reporters run with the first part without understanding.

I can imagine Russia severely depleting their missile and drones, but it would be insane to run out of shells.

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DirkBabypunch t1_j22td1h wrote

I remember way back when they ran out of guns. Didn't stop them then.

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FireblastU t1_j1zfwzd wrote

Yeah only the guys on the front line run out, they will never send it all to them.

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RheagarTargaryen t1_j1zh71l wrote

Director of National Intelligence (USA) was the one saying that Russia is running out.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna59847

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whiskey__wizard t1_j1zxs02 wrote

Never said they are “running out.” She said they are not capable of indigenously producing what they are expending. That says nothing about how much they may have stockpiled (because we can’t know for sure) or how much they are capable of getting from other allied nations.

You could say the same thing about the ukraine, but they have a steady stream of western support to keep their ammo flowing. No one is running out anytime soon.

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Mob1lis_in_mobil1 t1_j200cbz wrote

They may be running low compared to pre-conflict stockpile levels, and they totally could be scouring countries like NK and Belarus for ammunition; but to pretend they aren’t capable of pumping out more is foolish.

Russia has a large defense industry, they have been selling (and giving) weapons to other countries for decades.

Unless the munitions factories themselves are hit, waiting for Russia to run out of ammo is foolish.

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frizzykid t1_j1zijkm wrote

Yeah but he also says tied to that they already have found external aid and will continue to look for it to help keep up with their military output. He doesn't say they are going to run out of stuff to shoot at Ukraine anytime soon. This is just another example of what I said in my comment, where the headlines make it seem much worse than it is.

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meacri t1_j1zzgv7 wrote

If all they have is artillery it really limits what targets they can hit. Their long range method is now iranian drones. If they can only shell the border, it isn't that useful. Ukraine can also re-establish air superiority then enemy arty's become an easy target.

So how do suppose Russia will try to hit Kyiv hospitals?

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frizzykid t1_j200g3v wrote

> If they can only shell the border, it isn't that useful

This is really way to simple. Targeted long range munitions are important, but if you have enough shells to fire off you will eventually hit something of value. During WW1 they fired off like a billion shells in the first year alone and I'm sure you've seen the pictures of what the western front looked like during WW1. Russia may not be able to strike Kyiv accurately for much longer but they can still strike areas of logistical importance and make it hard for Ukraine to reinforce their troops.

Attacking the Ukrainian cities deep in Ukraine were mostly for morale purposes. These were operations to continue to try and get people living in Ukraine to leave. Regular less accurate artillery has been vital to the Russians ability to strike Ukrainian front line positions since the beginning of the war.

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meacri t1_j201e67 wrote

Arty can easily be taken out by drones. This is why Ukraine is buying drones and gaining air superiority.

You can't fight WW1 style against a military with tech, it just won't last.

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frizzykid t1_j201qfd wrote

>Arty can easily be taken out by drones

And it can be reproduced as quickly as it's taken out. Also drones themselves can be targeted by artillery or other drones which Russia has.

As it is now Russia appears to have everything they need to drag out this conflict as long as possible. They are very skilled at creating unending conflict.

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The_Redoubtable_Dane t1_j2141zp wrote

The fact that this appears to be the Russian's strategy is dumbfounding, since it is exactly what NATO would want Russia to do.

That is, to drag out the war for so long that Russia depletes its ENTIRE advanced arsenal, and for so long that hundreds of thousands of young Russians will die in the process, which will permanently weaken Russia from a demographic point of view.

The only logical conclusion for why Russia is currently doing what it is doing is that continuing down this path is in Vladimir Putin's personal interest, but with the probable end-game in sight, I fail to see how the status quo of dragging out the war is really that advantageous to him personally.

So more likely, the current strategy that Russia is pursuing is probably what Vladimir Putin thinks is in it own best interests based on the incorrect information he is being fed about the situation on the ground.

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meacri t1_j2114sp wrote

No, Russia has suicide drones, artillery isn't anti-air and drones are smaller targets. Russia definitely cannot refine steel and reproduce artillery cannons "as quickly as they are taken out". Russia is complete ass in logistics alone. This is why their front line fighters do not have enough small arms or ammo.

As it is now, I'm coming to the conclusion you're trying to use propaganda, or you're just talking out your ass trying to disprove me because you don't like being wrong.

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Mirathecat22 t1_j22w7m8 wrote

They don’t have everything though, Russia might have more but Ukraine has longer arms that hit their supply dumps that really constrain Russias ability to maintain those lines and continue lobbing those shells towards Ukraine. This has been Russias biggest problem ever since Ukraine got their hands on HIMARS, they haven’t been able to have reliable supply lines, ammo dumps or consistent positioning.

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ELB2001 t1_j20uht3 wrote

It might mean their own stock of certain ammo is gone, we already knew their production couldn't keep up with the speed they were using it at. Now they are using ammo they are importing. Question is if their production can keep up with the speed. Belarus most likely won't, North Korea's is said to have a high failure rate.

This is good news, just not great news.

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shodan13 t1_j288q1k wrote

There's no reason to think Russia can't manufacture dumb munitions indefinitely. There might be a question on capacity, but as Russia is obviously able to mobilize their whole economy for the war (unlike the West), it's only a question of time.

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anna_pescova t1_j1zi1w7 wrote

It's not so much a problem of the ammunition its the artillery barrels not being re bored or serviced. The propellant charge and the weight of the projectile are variable. Shooting a lot of heavy projos with full charges will cause considerably more wear. A higher rate of fire accelerates wear, too. As a rule of thumb, though, it's usually around 2000–3000 shots. The effect on the gun is inevitable.

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heroicnapkin t1_j20omeo wrote

Exactly right. You need something to shoot the rounds out of. The M777s sent to Ukraine have already been through the wringer and a lot of them are going out of action. What could be said of the old rusty unmaintained Soviet guns?

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anna_pescova t1_j20p4xq wrote

As a side note...NATO (reserve) tanks get about 10 hours of maintenance every month for each and every vehicle. There's 100's of different mechanical mechanisms (weapons loading actions, main gun elevation, ammo movement trollies, turret gears, engines, transmissions, suspension on each wheel, and the pivots on each track link) that need to be properly lubed and kept free of rust and moisture. Then there's the hydraulic systems that can sit without seals corroding and the fluids collecting moisture. Then you get to the electronics, the batteries, the generators etc.. The Russians haven't needed more than a few planes or tanks at any one time since Afghanistan in the 80s. Nowhere near the NATO schedule. Same goes for Missiles, ICBM's, AA, helios, Howizers, Training, etc. Americans aren't going without free health care for nothing!

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CuntyMcAnus t1_j21e9m2 wrote

American health care has no connection to military spending at all. They spend more on health care than Europeans do.

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jimsmoments89 t1_j22vfnn wrote

Yeah and that only because the middleman insurance companies needs their cut

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KimCureAll OP t1_j1yw4zk wrote

I don't think Russia can easily run out of ammo either, but it can run out of soldiers if the war continues for a long time. What's the latest count on Russian casualties? Well over 100K? Who in their right mind would voluntarily want to fight for Russia?

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GAZ082 t1_j1z4eay wrote

Nobody. That's why police execute the conscription orders.

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KimCureAll OP t1_j1z58o9 wrote

I've seen videos of conscripts trying to run away - it's hilarious and sad at the same time. Can you imagine being forced to have to fight and die for your country, a country that is not worth fighting for. I mean, Russia could be a great country, but its governance for centuries has been abysmal.

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OldMork t1_j1ywuef wrote

they most likely got tons from USSR-era, and iran, NK or even china and india can supply.

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Eli_Yitzrak t1_j21wjiy wrote

India is highly dependent on Russian arms exports and cannot in turn supply Russia

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kaslokid t1_j1z7l0x wrote

It is doubtful that will happen either. Russia is massive and we forget how many soldiers they threw into WW2.

The numbers are there but the unknown is what happens if they try to mobilize the men in Moscow, St. P, etc. The propaganda is strong and Russia has a massive police force.

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SpaceTabs t1_j20k5ne wrote

Logistics will definitely be more of a problem, although probably not "run out". The Russian bodies will not run out of either. It's completely normal for a medieval army to send in the inexperienced troops first to wear down the enemy.

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Snoo63541 t1_j20ulz0 wrote

Keep in mind “casualties” included wounded, not just dead, at a roughly 10:1 ratio. Many of those wounded may later return to the fight.

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Down_B_OP t1_j20w91p wrote

Usually 3:1 is used for estimating casualties, but I've seen some analysts suggest 2:1 is more accurate with the inadequate medical care. Our casualty numbers are largely extrapolations based on counting dead russians and applying that ratio. If the 2:1 ratio is to be believed, we are grossly overestimating the number of surviving casualties.

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Exist50 t1_j20083y wrote

>What's the latest count on Russian casualties? Well over 100K?

Isn't that number coming from Ukraine? Probably not the best source for judging actual casualties.

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The_Redoubtable_Dane t1_j214r36 wrote

I believe more neutral analysts have estimated the number to be at least 80.000, so it's probably not too far off.

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eske8643 t1_j23spip wrote

They have a standing army of well over 1 million. But to send them to ukraine would mean weakening their borders somewhere. And they are too afraid that some countries like Finland. Japan. China etc. Would reclaim land from them. So they are essentially locked down in these areas.

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autotldr t1_j1z0xjp wrote

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 93%. (I'm a bot)


> WASHINGTON The defense minister of Baltic ally Lithuania voiced skepticism over the recent Pentagon assessment that Russia, after months of fighting Ukraine and slapped with western sanctions, would deplete its fully-serviceable ammunition stockpiles by early 2023.

> Arvydas Anušauskas, following visits with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other U.S. officials here, said in an interview that any appraisals of Russia's weapons stockpiles ought to also factor in Lithuania's Russian-allied neighbor Belarus, which sent Russia more than 20,000 tons of ammunition earlier this year.

> How does Lithuania regard a new entrant into the defense market like South Korea, which also makes self-propelled howitzers, and is known for marketing itself pretty aggressively?


Extended Summary | FAQ | Feedback | Top keywords: Lithuania^#1 defense^#2 Ukraine^#3 Russia^#4 capability^#5

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sillypicture t1_j20g66i wrote

Looks like my first game of hoi

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Die-Scheisse21 t1_j22fnjq wrote

The trick is to go on the defensive for about a campaign season. Maybe more depending on how deep in the hole you are. Give your factories time to catch up.

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youzerVT71 t1_j1z00ig wrote

Lockheed Martin loving putins bad decisions

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ThatBitchWhoSaidWhat t1_j221f1p wrote

Would Russian soldiers in Belarus be a legitimate target if the roles of Ukraine and Russia were reversed?......if yes....then the second they cross more lines attack, surgically.

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Elvtars426 t1_j1z2tta wrote

In situations like this, always better to over-estimate what they have and plan for them at their most powerful and then some. They keep threatening to use nukes and I do think if Putin gets desperate enough, he would use them.

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Elipses_ t1_j21hu01 wrote

I don't think Russia will run out of the basic stuff.

There is a good chance the my could run out of the really powerful stuff though.

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gingerbread_man123 t1_j21jt2p wrote

Running out of ammo can mean a number of things:

-Lacking physical shells in inventory ("we've run out")

-Consuming shells much faster than they can be replaced ("we're running out")

-Lacking shells in the correct places to service the targets requested ("we're running out of shells here")

The latter is very likely given HIMARS related "smoking accidents" in Russian ammo stores that are too close to the front lines, or are large enough to be worth a GMLRS rocket or two. Small, distributed stores further from the front are more protected, but less efficient in delivering shells into tubes.

"Usage faster than production" is almost inevitable for any weapon system in high intensity wartime unless there is a heavy shift to a war economy. The question isn't whether country X will run out of weapons system Y, it's when will they. Usage and destruction factor into this too. The pressing issue here also becomes which type of weapon system is depleted first, for example 152mm Krasnopol is much more capable than a dumb 152mm.

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Norwester77 t1_j232k9t wrote

No, the Lithuanian defense minister is doubtful or skeptical that Russia will run out of ammo. If he were leery that Russia will run out of ammo, he would think that they will, and he would be worried or concerned about that prospect.

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Brilliant-Debate-140 t1_j1yw30k wrote

Yes they ate already running out of ammo, keep it up you fuks!

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