PARIS: Ukraine’s defence minister warned Thursday that the country faced a “very real and pressing” ammunition shortage in its grinding near-two-year battle against Russia, as Western allies met in Paris to agree new artillery supplies.

“A shortage of ammunition is a very real and pressing problem that our armed forces are facing at present,” Rustem Umerov posted on X after speaking by video link to the gathering led by France and the United States.

“The artillery coalition is aimed at solving this issue,” he said.

A 23-nation effort, the coalition is part of the so-called Ramstein contact group, which gathers more than 50 countries supporting Ukraine.

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu hosted Thursday’s event, saying France would cover the cost of 12 new guns out of 78 it could manufacture this year.

“I spoke with (French President) Emmanuel Macron to thank France for launching the artillery coalition” and for its manufacture of guns and ammunition, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on X. The two leaders also discussed the “need to further strengthen Ukraine’s air defence”, he added, as it is targeted by Russian drones and missiles almost nightly.

Umerov told Thursday’s gathering that “there is no alternative to modern artillery, we have to keep up our efforts and increase munitions production”. With modern Western guns using 155-millimetre shells, rather than the 122mm ammunition of Soviet artillery, supply has become a critical issue.

The European Union had promised to deliver one million shells by spring this year, but European Parliament lawmakers say only 300,000 have been delivered so far.