Read previewRussia has successfully rebuilt its "war-stage" economy much faster than expected, and it is now cranking out far more artillery ammunition than it was prior to the beginning of the Ukraine war, a NATO defense chief said Tuesday.
Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow was producing up to 400,000 152mm rounds per year.
But that figure has since swelled to 2 million rounds annually, according to Laurynas Kasčiūnas, Lithuania's minister of national defense.
Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via APDespite international efforts to inflict economic pain on Russia over its war, through actions like sanctions, Kasčiūnas said Moscow's "war-stage economy" has recovered "faster than we expected."
Dmytro Smolienko / Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty ImagesKasčiūnas delivered his remarks alongside Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur and Latvian Defense Minister Andris Sprūds.
Persons:
—, Laurynas, Kasčiūnas, Vladimir Putin, Putin, Dmytro Smolienko, Hanno Pevkur, Andris Sprūds
Organizations:
Service, NATO, Business, POLITICO, Russian Defense Ministry Press Service, —, Publishing, Getty, Estonian Defense, Latvian Defense
Locations:
Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Soviet, Washington ,, Europe, Zaporizhzhia Region, Baltic