NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg attends a press conference as part of the NATO Foreign Ministers meeting on Ukraine at its Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium November 29, 2023. (Photo: Reuters)

The conflict in Ukraine has become a battle of ammunition, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters after a signing ceremony at the Western military alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said last week a shortage of ammunition was a big problem for Kyiv's troops nearly two years after Russia's military operation.

The contract is likely to yield about 220,000 rounds of artillery ammunition, with the first deliveries expected at the end of 2025, the official told Reuters.

At a meeting in February, NATO defense ministers are set to discuss other ways to step up industrial production which the NATO chief described as absolutely necessary to enable continued Western support for Kyiv.