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Spain Supplied Nearly Half of Its Ammo Production in 2023-2024 to Ukraine

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Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
Author
Spain Supplied Nearly Half of Its Ammo Production in 2023-2024 to Ukraine
Spanish military personnel prepare to operate Leopard 2E tanks during a training exercise for the Ukrainian military, at the San Gregorio military base outside Zaragoza, Spain, on March 13, 2023. (Source: Getty Images)

Ukraine directly purchased 155mm shells and 120mm mortar rounds from Spain in 2023 and the first half of 2024, with total spending reaching $216 million, according to a report from Spanish defense portal Infodefensa on March 24.

The ammunition was produced by Spanish manufacturers such as Rheinmetall Expal Munitions and Grenade Ammunition Factory.

At the same time, Spain continued to provide military aid to Ukraine, delivering weapons and equipment directly to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to Infodefensa, Ukraine’s total military purchases from Spain during this period amounted to $295 million, with 70% allocated to ammunition.

  • In 2023, Ukraine purchased:

    • 55,950 rounds of 155mm artillery shells ($74.6 million)

    • 21,520 rounds of 120mm mortar shells ($11.4 million)

    • 11 missiles of an undisclosed type ($18.2 million)

  • In the first half of 2024, Spain delivered:

    • 89,200 rounds of 155mm shells ($128.2 million)

    • 23,000 rounds of 120mm mortar shells

    • 100% of direct commercial sales of artillery ammunition

The report does not specify whether similar deliveries continued in the second half of 2024 but notes that Ukraine received nearly 50% of Spain’s total artillery ammunition production under these contracts.

Despite these direct sales, Spanish commercial defense exports to Ukraine in 2023 only accounted for 4% of Spain’s total defense exports, which reached $4 billion. In the first half of 2024, Spain’s overall defense exports amounted to $2 billion.

In addition to ammunition sales, Spain provided significant military aid, equipping Ukraine with nearly a full brigade’s worth of equipment by June 2023, including a company of Leopard 2A4 tanks.

By March 2024, Spain had delivered $205 million worth of military aid to Ukraine.

Earlier, the Spanish authorities prepared their first-ever national civil defense plan, designed to address potential scenarios in which war reaches Spanish territory.

According to Spain’s Ministry of Interior, the civil defense plan in case of a war threat is part of Spain’s Second National Civil Defense Strategy, a five-year initiative approved by the National Security Council.

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