STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
We've been following the journey of an artillery shell. Yesterday, we heard the sounds of a factory where Pennsylvania workers make ammunition for the war in Ukraine.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
MANSEE KHURANA, BYLINE: At a factory in downtown Scranton, workers transform hunks of metal into a vital piece of equipment fired on the front lines of Ukraine's war against Russia.
(SOUNDBITE OF HOWITZER FIRING)
KHURANA: One-hundred-fifty-five-millimeter howitzer rounds have been...
INSKEEP: Today, we will trace its path across the Atlantic. These shells represent military power and also money. American tax dollars pay for them, which is why NPR's Ashley Westerman has been watching your money at work. Hey there, Ashley.
ASHLEY WESTERMAN, BYLINE: Hi, Steve.
INSKEEP: How do you go about tracking artillery shells?
WESTERMAN: So I actually spoke to a person at each step of this journey - even the guy who sees the ammunition physically to the front. And, you know, I've covered Ukraine as a journalist for a while, and so I know that these are the most requested and most effective artillery that they receive.
INSKEEP: OK, so what are these things?
WESTERMAN: They're 155-millimeter shells, and they've been around for almost 150 years. It's not new tech. It's not drone. And it's not, like, a huge hypersonic missile, but it's used in field guns such as howitzers. And they're, like, round and green, pointy at the end (laughter).
INSKEEP: And if you picture, like, those old black-and-white films of World War I, of just blowing up trenches with thousands of these things - that's what this is.
WESTERMAN: Yes. They use thousands of them on a daily basis, so millions at this point. And, you know, each one costs about $3,000 to produce.
INSKEEP: OK, $3,000, and I start multiplying by millions - this is real money. Are there controls in place to make sure these rounds get from Pennsylvania through an East Coast seaport on a ship across the ocean and where they're supposed to go?
WESTERMAN: Yes. So at each stop, there are systems in place to track this ammunition, down to the serial numbers. Eurocom (ph), which is the U.S. military in Europe - they told me that they use these secure logistics and transportation management computer systems to track all this data. One of them is a NATO program that the Ukrainians actually have access to. I spoke to a commander of one of Ukraine's arsenals where these 155-millimeter shells end up, and he gives his call sign as Sergey.
SERGEY: (Speaking Ukrainian).
WESTERMAN: So he says that when the ammunition arrives, they actually count the shells, and they put that information into these tracking systems. And that process is repeated when the shells arrive at the front. And, you know, the Ukrainians also track and report back how each shell is used, how many and what for. And the Ukrainian military says the Pentagon has access to all of this information at any time.
INSKEEP: I guess we should say at this point - these things are large. They're heavy. You don't just slip it into your coat and walk off. But does any of this ammunition ever go unaccounted for?
WESTERMAN: Yes. That is almost inevitable. The Pentagon actually put out a report earlier this year that said nearly 40,000 weapons - more than $1 billion worth - sent to Kyiv have been lost.
INSKEEP: A variety of different kinds of military equipment.
WESTERMAN: A variety of different kinds. But I will say that the report says there's no evidence that the weapons were mishandled or misused. They just don't know where they are. I spoke to Oleksandr Zavitnevych about this. He's a Ukrainian parliamentarian and in charge of the procurement of weapons from abroad. And, you know, he told me, yes, sometimes weapons are stolen on the battlefield - like, if a helicopter is shot down.
OLEKSANDR ZAVITNEVYCH: (Speaking Ukrainian).
WESTERMAN: But, he says, during the entirety of the full-scale invasion, there has not been one case of weapons being sold on the black market by Ukrainians or anyone else, including the Russians. I also spoke to Oksana Ustinova (ph), another parliamentarian. And, you know, she has a long resume of battling corruption in Ukraine. And today, she heads Ukraine's commission on arms control.
OKSANA USTINOVA: So we're not stupid to shoot ourselves in the leg. We understand that if there's even one scandal that comes up and appears to be true, we're done, and we will not have that support coming anymore.
INSKEEP: So you want to get the ammunition there safely, but you also want to get it there in volume. Is Ukraine getting enough for this brutal war?
WESTERMAN: So the truth is, Steve, Ukraine can actually never have enough artillery. I spoke with Mark Cancian. He's a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and he says that the U.S. has made adjustments to meet this demand.
MARK CANCIAN: Artillery, for example, has increased from about 14,000 rounds per month when the war began to about 40,000 today and headed towards about 100,000 per month by the end of 2025.
WESTERMAN: And he says that with this ramp-up, the U.S. is actually able to provide Ukraine with as much as they want, while also keeping the minimum inventory for the U.S.'s own readiness.
INSKEEP: NPR's Ashley Westerman, thanks for the reporting. Really appreciate it.
WESTERMAN: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE ESCAPE ROUTE'S "AND SO WE BEAT ON") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
