2 June 2025, 16:59

By Joakim Sjöblom

As part of the Strategic Defence Review announcement on Monday, the Prime Minister revealed that £1.5 billion is being allocated to build at least six new munitions and energetics factories across Europe.

This announcement could not come at a more crucial moment. Europe and the UK are lagging dangerously far behind Russia, and access to munitions is deciding the outcome of the conflict in Ukraine.

This failure to keep pace with Russia can no longer just be an inconvenient truth. It has to be rectified urgently. In modern warfare, procurement, supply and innovation are as crucial as troop numbers. In the words of Sir Keir Starmer: ‘the front line is here’.

Russia is outgunning the rest of Europe - the factory is now the frontline.

The War in Ukraine has exposed just how far behind the rest of Europe is on artillery when compared to Russia. Currently, Moscow can access five million artillery shells per year - Europe has the capacity for less than two million.

While Russia can produce explosives at an annual rate equivalent to 50,000........

© LBC