Türkiye’s ammo deal may be key to Ukraine’s big guns

Proceeding from a fresh article, Forbes unveils that as Ukraine’s massive 2S7 howitzers intermittently roar back to life on the battlefield, one key question lingers: where is the ammunition coming from? With some NATO allies hesitant, Türkiye may be stepping in to ensure these giant guns stay in action.

When the Ukrainian army entered the war in February 2022, it had approximately 100 of its powerful 2S7 howitzers either in active service or stored. The 14-member crews operating the 203-millimeter tracked artillery played a crucial role in the early defence of Kyiv before spreading out to assist Ukrainian forces along the eastern front.

After about a year of service, Ukraine’s largest artillery pieces, the 2S7s, began to go silent intermittently. While the Russians have destroyed or seized at least seven of these massive howitzers, the main issue isn’t a shortage of guns but a lack of 230-pound shells to keep them operational.

In September, one of the 2S7s was photographed in the 250-square-mile area held by Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast, western Russia. After a brief operational pause, the artillery was back in action with the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group (OSG) in eastern Ukraine the following month. “Each shot is a clear execution,” the Khortytsia OSG proudly declared.

The sporadic operations of the 2S7 howitzers are due to Ukraine’s difficulty in sourcing 203-millimeter shells. Ukraine doesn’t produce them domestically, and very few countries, if any, manufacture them outside of Russia.

However, the US Army previously used 203-millimeter tracked howitzers and retained some M105 and M106 shells even after phasing out the M110 guns decades ago. In 2023, the Biden administration sent 10,000 M105 and M106 shells to Ukraine. After this shipment, US stockpiles of 203-millimeter shells were reportedly depleted.

Greece, whose army still operates M110s, stepped up reluctantly and sent thousands of 203-millimeter shells in separate batches during 2023 and 2024. With political will, Greece could send even more, but it has been one of the more hesitant NATO supporters of Ukraine—a distinction the US under President Donald Trump once shared.

If Greece continues to hesitate, the responsibility of supplying Ukraine’s largest howitzers could fall to another NATO member that still uses M110s with compatible ammunition: Türkiye. Should Ukraine’s 2S7s go in and out of action, Türkiye may be the key to understanding why.

By Naila Huseynova