Russia’s Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu has voiced dissatisfaction with the management of Uraltransmash, the Ural Transport Engineering Plant, over delays in meeting production schedules. During a visit to the company, responsible for producing self-propelled artillery, Shoygu emphasised the need to adhere to the planned timeline, which appears to be behind schedule.

Delays have been observed in Russia’s production of artillery systems, which came to light during Defence Minister Sergey Shoygu's inspection of the Uraltransmash plant. Shoigu, scrutinising the execution of the state defence order, expressed his discontent with the company's CEO, Oleg Yemelyanov, regarding the production holdups.

“Listen, stop acting like fools, gentlemen. We began focusing on this in 2022. By 2023 these machines should be fully operational, and yet everything here seems far too calm, so to speak, far too orderly," Shoygu addressed the plant's management.

The minister reminded them of the Russian President's orders to increase production of self-propelled artillery and demanded that Yemelyanov provide a report within a week outlining plans and measures to achieve the production numbers mandated by the presidential decree.

“We are talking about self-propelled artillery, and indeed, although we today have reached a decent pace with repairs and new Msta artillery units, we need to step up efforts for other systems,” noted Shoygu.

Shoygu also announced the Defence Ministry's intention to sign a long-term contract for the supply of the latest Coalition-SV self-propelled artillery units.

Russia has reportedly achieved an annual production rate of 2 million shells in the 122mm and 152mm calibres. However, a shortage of ammunition has led the country to cover the deficit through North Korea and other nations.

Previously, the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia is manufacturing more missiles now than before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

  War in Ukraine, Shoygu

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