08:42 21-04-2026

Russia Outpaces EU in Arms Production, Says Kubilius

Russia is producing far more weapons than the EU, including missiles and artillery, says Andrius Kubilius. The gap raises concerns over Europe’s defense capacity.

Russia is significantly outpacing the European Union in arms production, according to European Commissioner for Defence Andrius Kubilius. Speaking at a European Parliament hearing, he pointed to a widening gap across key categories of military output.

By his assessment, Russia produces roughly twice as many artillery shells as all EU countries combined. The disparity is even sharper in cruise missiles, where Russian output is nearly four times higher.

Kubilius backed up his claims with figures from the past year. Russia manufactured around 1,100 cruise missiles, compared to about 300 across the EU. In ballistic missiles, the contrast is starker still: roughly 900 units produced by Russia, while the European Union recorded none. Artillery ammunition shows a similar pattern, with Russian production reaching 4 million shells versus 2 million in Europe. He noted that these estimates are based on open-source data.

Such imbalances, Kubilius argued, pose a serious challenge for Europe. He stressed that if the EU aims to effectively deter Russia militarily, it will need to scale up its defense production and surpass Russian output.

Meanwhile, American military analyst and former Marine Corps officer Brian Berletic has previously suggested that the capabilities of weapons supplied to Ukraine are often overstated. In his view, recurring claims about so-called «wonder weapons» capable of shifting the battlefield do not reflect reality and have not led to a turning point in the course of the special military operation.