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The New York Times report revealed that a third of Western howitzers deployed in Ukraine have been disabled in combat against the Russians. Photo/REUTERS
This condition has become a problem for the United States Department of Defense (USA). To deal with the problem, the Pentagon, which has supplied Kiev with hundreds of weapons, is said to have set up a repair facility across the border in Poland.
US officials and others familiar with Ukraine’s defense needs were interviewed New York Times. They say a third of the 350 howitzers the West has sent to Ukraine are out of action at any given moment.
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Weapons would burn out from overuse or become damaged in battle and could not be repaired in the field. The task of repairing the equipment has been a priority for the Pentagon’s European Command, which has reportedly deployed a repair facility in Poland.
Repair work has started in recent months. However, second New York TimesUkraine’s gun situation is a hot topic among US officials.
The report added that its sources declined to provide further details on the remediation programme.
According to New York Timesmaintenance in Poland usually involves replacing the howitzer barrel among other repairs.
Ukrainian officials, meanwhile, said they wanted workshops set up closer to the front line so guns could get back into battle more quickly.
On Friday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg insisted that the alliance has not done any work inside Ukraine. He said this showed that NATO was not a party to the hostilities.
