The state is doing its best to ensure that mortar grenades are not manufactured in Ukraine. Opinion of Ukrainian citizen Sichkar Ivan on mortar grenades manufacture, posted on censor.net.
“My name is Sichkar Ivan Volodymyrovych, born in 1984. I watched Yuriy Butusov’s broadcast on Butusov Plus about the lack of mass production of mortar grenades. Here is a photo of mortar grenades machined by me personally. I also calculated their production. But, taking into account corruption and fucking red tape + the risks that we will be punished for this tomorrow, because we cannot hide our real addresses, we deliberately decided not to get involved. The production cost of a grenade in Ukraine is estimated to be $75…$100 at most; its production can be established in one’s garage. It is possible to reduce the cost of production down to $60 if everything is done for this.
The technology is easy, it is designed to enable children and women to do everything by themselves according to the blueprints, when there are no men and boys left because they went to war. I researched this topic, checked it personally, I have been in metalworking for 10 years, I created an internationally known optical company (Ironglass LLC), and I responsibly declare that the state has done everything to prevent mortar grenades from being produced in Ukraine.
I fought in the 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade in 2022-23 and I know what it is like to not have any ammunition and what a heavy price our infantry is paying for this shortage. Instead of increasing the number of men with machine guns in the trench, it is better to increase the number of mines that can be used to kill enemy infantry in other trenches and thereby save the lives of our people.
The fact that grenades are not produced and ordered in sufficient quantities for the army is a problem solely due to the irresponsibility of high-ranking officials, because Ukraine is capable of mass-producing tens of thousands of them per month. In order for them to be mass-produced, society should raise certain issues with the authorities and they must solve them.
For example:
– industry crediting (for purchasing equipment), because there is none. The state needs a powerful industry, but it mainly credits farmers (program 5-7-9)
– the lack of equipment insurance covering military risks (makes leasing impossible)
– the price of metalworking equipment in Ukraine excceds its price in Europe/USA/Japan by 15%-20% due to customsduty and VAT.
This raises the question of how to produce what the Ministry of Defense needs? Where to get money for this? How to insure risks?
I hope that the publicity you have created will force the authorities to act.”
One of the manufacturers of mortar grenades gave a comment to censor.net on Ivan Sichkar’s address.
“The production of mine cases in Ukraine is not a problem, it can really in the cheapest possible way. But a mine case is only 20% of the cost. The problem of mine production at the moment is the lack of the necessary amount of gunpowder and explosives on the world market. Everyone at once began to need weapons. A lack of special explosives is just part of the problem, because they can be replaced with less powerful ones.
Ivan is wrong about one detail – to specialize in metal cutting is enough for this.
But in general, Sichkar is right. Although the production of gunpowder and explosives can be established in Ukraine, it has not been establisned due to the lack of decisions by the authorities. Indeed, such production costs several hundred million dollars, and it can take more than a year of work. But if we started doing it at least at the beginning of the invasion, we would already have a result.
Let’s look at our allies’ experience.
In the USA, all ammunition manufacturers received five-year contacts from the Pentagon in 2022. HIMARS, Javelins and shells are now produced by the Americans under these contracts. This allows the manufacturer to develop a financial plan, calculate costs, attract investments, take loans, and thus purchase new equipment for large-scale projects.
As to Ukraine, there is no long-term planning here. There are neither five-year nor even three-year contracts, which were foreseen by President Zelenskyi’s decree on the reform of the defense industry contracts. There are only short-term contracts.
Therefore, instead of focusing on establishing domestic production of ammunition, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Strategic Industries are thinking about where to buy shells and mines at any price here and now. But now it is impossible to purchase abroad gunpowder and explosives to meet all our needs.
The situation is exacerbating in the world, and the need for domestic production of a full cycle of ammunition remains the main challenge, which the Ukrainian defense industry still needs to solve.
The authorities should finally make a decision and build a full production cycle of artillery and mortar ammunition in Ukraine.”
Tags: russia ukraine war Ukraine Ukraine government
