UK Running ‘Dangerously Low’ on Ammo After Sending Munitions to Ukraine

SOUTHERN ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 21: A row of AS90 155mm self-propelled artillery systems opera
Leon Neal/Getty Images
Peter Caddle

The UK is now running “dangerously low” on ammunition after sending large military aid packages to Ukraine.

Stocks of ammunition in the UK are now at “dangerously low levels” due to the country giving away supplies to Ukraine, Britain’s Defence Select Committee has now warned.

It is the latest in a litany of recent warnings regarding the state of Britain’s military, with one former general warning that the country would likely run out of ammo after just one day in a direct war with Russia.

A similar warning has now been issued by the MPs who sit on the Defence Select Committee, with a report published on Tuesday detailing the dire situation the country’s military now finds itself in.

“It is clear that the UK and its NATO Allies have allowed ammunition stockpiles to dwindle to dangerously low levels,” the report reads.

It also warns that Britain is facing significant supply-side problems when it comes to securing fresh ammunition, meaning that it could take “over a decade” for the country to replenish its arsenal after sending billions of dollars worth of military equipment to Ukraine.

“Whilst Russia is also facing the diminution of its stockpiles, other adversaries are able to maintain and potentially increase their own,” the report added. “This inability to replenish UK stockpiles therefore puts at risk not just our ability to resupply Ukraine but also to counter any threat to our own security”

“It is clear that the manner in which Western governments procure armaments is not fit for purpose,” it went on to say, with MPs recommending that an “action plan” be put in place focused on solving this problem.

Though making for some stark reading for the UK government, Tuesday’s report is not all that unexpected, with officials in Britain being repeatedly warned that they are now in dire straights when it comes to the preparedness of their military.

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has been sounding the alarm bells on this issue for the last number of months, warning two weeks back that “war is coming” to Britain, and that it needed to be prepared for it.

“Conflict is coming by the end of this decade… whether it is a cold war or hot, war is coming,” he said during an interview, before pushing for increased defence spending.

Such additional capital appears to be badly needed at this point, with one former top general warning that — as things stand — the UK would not last a day in a military conflict with Russia before running out of ammo.

Britain’s military is facing more than just supply problems though, with previous reports indicating that the country’s Royal Air Force would struggle to field planes in a conflict against a major power such as Russia or China.

This is not an issue the RAF seems all that concerned with though, with the upper brass of the organisation recently reported to have banned their subordinates from hiring white men, a tactic aimed at helping them hit their racial and gender diversity quotas rather than actual military readiness.

A small silver lining for the UK in all of this is that they are likely not the only NATO country which would be unable to defend itself in a large conflict, with the German Minister of Defence, Boris Pistorius, admitting last week that the European country’s military would also not be able to repel an attack from a foreign power should the country be invaded.

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