Ukrainian troops fire thousands of explosive shells at Russian targets every day, using high-tech cannons supplied by the US and its allies. But those weapons are burning out after months of overuse or being damaged or destroyed in combat, and dozens have been taken off the battlefield for repairs, according to US and Ukrainian officials.

A third of the roughly 350 western-made howitzers donated to Kyiv are out of action at any given time, according to US defence officials and others familiar with Ukraine’s defence needs.

Swapping out a howitzer’s barrel, which can be 20 feet long and weigh thousands of pounds, is beyond the capability of soldiers in the field and has become a priority for the Pentagon’s European Command, which has set up a repair facility in Poland.

Western-made artillery pieces gave Ukrainian soldiers a lifeline when they began running low on ammunition for their own Soviet-era howitzers, and keeping them in action has become as important for Ukraine’s allies as providing them with enough ammunition. The effort to repair the weapons in Poland, which has not previously been reported, began in recent months. The condition of Ukraine’s weapons is a closely held matter among US military officials, who declined to discuss details of the programme.

“With every capability, we give to Ukraine, and those our allies and partners provide, we work to ensure that they have the right maintenance sustainment packages to support those capabilities over time,” Lieutenant Commander Daniel Day, a spokesman for the US European Command, said.

When the ammunition for Ukraine’s Soviet-era guns, which fire shells 152mm in diameter, grew scarce shortly after the invasion, Nato-standard howitzers that fire 155- mm shells became some of Ukraine’s most important weapons, given the vast stockpiles of compatible shells held by Kyiv’s partners.

The Pentagon has sent 142 M777 howitzers to Ukraine, enough to outfit 8 battalions, the most recent tally of US military aid to Ukraine shows.

New York Times News Service