Ukrainian strikes leave Putin's army scrambling for ammo

As a result of numerous and often effective strikes by Ukraine on Russian ammunition depots, Putin's army units are starting to experience a "shell hunger." This is a situation they have not faced until now.

According to the Ukrainian portal Defence Express, this information is being disseminated by, among others, the Russian pro-war blogger Jegor Guzenko. He claims that the Russian army began experiencing a shortage of ammunition after the Ukrainians destroyed large ammunition depots. This primarily concerns warehouses in Toropiec and in the vicinity of Tichorieck in the Krasnodar Territory.

The attacks on both of these locations were carried out in September. Just a few days after the attacks, specialists from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggested that the destruction of such large ammunition stocks would influence Russian actions in the near future. Military expert Jewhen Dykyi, in turn, stated outright that even temporary shortages of ammunition among Russian units fighting in Ukraine are not out of the question, and it looks like this grim scenario for the Russians is beginning to materialize.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the Russians have had the capability for far more numerous bombardments, primarily concerning artillery fire. While the Ukrainians were waiting for often delayed reinforcements from the West, the Russians had large ammunition supplies from their own reserves and reinforcements delivered from Iran and North Korea. Interestingly, North Korean missiles of various types were found in both Russian depots destroyed in September.

After the attack on the warehouses in the city of Toropiec, the Ukrainian command reported that the Russians had stored not only artillery ammunition there but also missiles for the S-300 and S-400 systems, and even ballistic missiles. In the context of the latter, Russian Iskanders and North Korean KN-23s were mentioned.

The Iskander (dedicated to the Iskander-M system) and KN-23 are short-range ballistic missiles, which in their case means the ability to attack targets located approximately 310 miles and approximately 373 miles away, respectively. The KN-23 is about 30 feet long and about 3 feet in diameter, while the Iskander is slightly smaller, measuring just over 23 feet in length.

In the context of artillery ammunition, the Russians rely on 4.8-inch and 6-inch caliber shells. Ukrainians also use these in Soviet-era artillery systems, but for NATO-supplied weapons, they need 6.1-inch caliber shells.