Ukrainian defense minister announces plans to build next-generation ammo depots
KYIV. May 8 (Interfax) - Ukraine is planning to build 15 modern reinforced-concrete ammunition storage facilities this year, work will start in May.
The matter was considered during an inspection by Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak of a military arsenal in the Khmelnytskyi region on Tuesday, the Defense Ministry stated on its website.
"The task we are facing is very demanding, difficult, but quite doable. (...) We are building storage sites which are not only reliably protected from enemy fire, they will come fitted with modern automatic security, lighting and firefighting systems," Poltorak said
In 2018 Ukraine is planning to build 15 such storage facilities at three military arsenals, the ministry said. Technical documentation has already been drafted, tenders conducted, the construction starts in May.
Ammunition assembly and repair facilities will be set up at the arsenals, the minister said.
"Today I once again saw for myself that we are fully capable of creating, at Ukrainian army arsenals, production facilities specifically designed for producing ammunition by assembly," Poltorak said.
With this mechanism, the ammunition production, repair and storage will all be concentrated in one place, thus creating safe conditions for the population and making the logistics much cheaper, he said.