US to Buy $1.5Bln Worth of Explosives to Make 155mm Shells for Ukraine

The United States has signed a contract to acquire $1.5 billion worth of explosives that will be used to produce ammunition for Ukraine, Polish defense holding Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) said on Friday.

On Thursday, US news portal reported that the Pentagon was planning to send tens of thousands of 155mm artillery shells to Israel, which were initially reserved for Ukraine. 

"The US armed forces have signed contracts worth $1.5 billion with nine companies from four countries, including Nitro-Chem S.A. chemical plant from Bydgoszcz, which forms a part of the Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa defense holding," the PGZ said in a statement, adding that the contracts the were signed in connection with the planned increase in the production of artillery ammunition of 155mm caliber to deliver them to Ukraine.

The explosive substance required for the production of 155mm artillery ammunition is TNT, the main supplier of which to the US Army is the Nitro-Chem chemical plant, the statement added.
The contract is to be fulfilled between 2023 and 2026, the defense holding said.