JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia Is Pumping Out Weapons—but Can It Keep It Up?” – WSJ
“Some Western analysts say Moscow’s arms-production figures mask various challenges and could be misleading”
“Russia’s ability to churn out tanks, missiles and shells has surprised the West and heaped further pressure on Ukraine. The question … is how long it can continue. … Russia’s military production figures are [said to be] misleading and mask challenges including a shortage of labor and a falloff in quality. The ramp-up may not be sustainable as it saps resources from the wider economy, and any drop in output [reportedly] could leave Russia even more reliant on help from allies such as China, Iran and North Korea …. The labor crunch at … [Russia’s] Uralvagonzavod site was so bad at the start of [2023] that the company took on 250 convicts from a nearby prison …. To boost output, Uralvagonzavod, [with roughly] 30,000 workers, started 24-hour production …. Workers there have complained on social media about inadequate training, a lack of tools and poor safety conditions. … [A] dispute over training and wages led one worker to stab himself in the throat with a knife in front of his boss. He survived. The company said it regretted the incident, which it described as an ordinary human tragedy. …”
Russian officials have said, in the past, that the Russian arms industry needs around 2 million workers, implying a roughly 20% shortfall. In addition to Russia sending larger numbers to the war in Ukraine, an estimated hundreds of thousands of Russians fled the country, although some might have returned.