U.S. To Ship 100,000 SoKor Howitzer Rounds To Ukraine

The US will buy 100,000 rounds of howitzer artillery from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, a US official said, in a deal the two governments have been working on for some time, Lolita C. Baldor and Tara Copp reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: The agreement comes as Ukrainian leaders press for more weapons and aid to take advantage of a counteroffensive that is pushing Russian forces out of some areas they had taken over earlier in the war.

The agreement comes as Ukrainian leaders press for more weapons and aid to take advantage of a counteroffensive that is pushing Russian forces out of some areas they had taken over earlier in the war.

And it relieves concerns within the US military — particularly the Army and the Marine Corps — who are worried that persistent transfers of the Pentagon's howitzer ammunition to Ukraine are eating into their stockpiles.

Other defense officials confirmed the broad outlines of the contract and said it would help with stockpile pressures, specifically involving the howitzer ammunition, which Ukrainian forces have been using at a high rate.

Last week a defense official briefing reporters said Ukraine was burning through as many as 7,000 rounds of ammunition a day, while Russia was firing as much as 20,000 rounds daily.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry in a statement acknowledged ongoing talks over exporting an unspecified number of 155-millimeter artillery shells to shore up diminishing US inventories.

However, the ministry said the negotiations were proceeding under the presumption that the US would be the “end user” of those rounds and that Seoul maintains its principle of providing only non-lethal support to Ukraine.

The South Korea agreement provides a sharp counterpoint to US accusations earlier this month that North Korea was covertly shipping artillery to Russia. It's not immediately clear whether the deal opens the possibility of South and North Korean artillery being fired against each other in Ukraine.

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