Europe’s ammunition supply is already strained, and it may soon face further pressure.
A Polish MP has claimed that a large share of the region’s TNT production is being exported to the United States, where it is incorporated into bombs later sent to Israel.
Maciej Konieczny of the Razem party raised the issue in parliament. He argued that Poland’s main producer, Nitro-Chem, is tied up with long-term US contracts, leaving Europe and Ukraine struggling to secure enough explosive material for their own defence needs.
Nitro-Chem, a state-owned company within the Polish Armaments Group, manufactures between 10,000 and 12,000 tonnes of TNT each year.
According to Konieczny, about half of this output is already committed to the US market until at least 2029.
Washington, which currently has no domestic TNT production capacity, relies heavily on imports while it moves to build a new facility in Kentucky. A recent $310 million agreement signed in 2025 commits Nitro-Chem to supplying 18,000 tonnes of TNT to the US between 2027 and 2029.
Konieczny argued that this export pattern leaves Poland with dangerously low reserves. He said it is roughly enough for a month of warfare. This also limits the country’s ability to supply artillery shells to Ukraine.
He also cited concerns from Palestinian civil society groups, which released a report claiming that TNT originating in Poland has been used in American-made MK-84, MK-82, and BLU-109 bombs deployed by Israel in Gaza.
US data shows that tens of thousands of these munitions reached Israel between late 2023 and mid-2024. Restrictions briefly introduced by the Biden administration were reversed when Donald Trump assumed office.
The lawmaker also noted that Europe has limited alternatives for sourcing TNT. A major Ukrainian plant in Luhansk is now under Russian control, and environmental constraints make establishing new production lines within the EU difficult and expensive. Purchases from China are off limits for the US.
Nitro-Chem has rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing, saying its operations comply fully with national and international regulations and remain under constant government oversight. The debate, however, has intensified questions about Europe’s dependence on a single major TNT supplier at a time of mounting security pressures.