EU gives Ukraine 220,000 projectiles and 1,300 missiles – Borrell
Photo by AFP/EAST NEWS
The following days, weeks, and months will be decisive for the Russian war against Ukraine, and that is why the EU countries are accelerating the delivery of military aid to Ukraine's armed forces: Ukraine received 220,000 projectiles of various calibers and 1,300 missiles from the existing army reserves.
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated this today in Brussels during a press conference following the results of the EU Council of Ministers on Foreign Relations (on defense issues), Ukrinform reports.
"On March 20, we decided to allocate €2 billion to supply 1 million artillery munitions to Ukraine over the next 12 months and asked member states to provide them from their own stocks. The latest numbers are much better than what we had ten days ago. I can announce today that Ukraine received 220,000 artillery shells of various calibers and 1,300 missiles thanks to the member countries.
This first "track" will be open until May 31, and I am convinced that we will reach the indicator (compensations – ed.) of 1 billion euros – so far, 800 million euros have already been paid out of this amount (for performers – ed.)," said Borrell.
He said that the second "track" of the program for munitions production encompasses the collective ordering of their production at the European defense industry and the enterprises of Norway with an additional allocation of one billion euros.
As of today, 24 countries have shown interest in this program. The European Defense Agency plays the leading role in this program; two more large projects are being carried out under the auspices of France and Germany, respectively.
The third "track" envisages the development of the capacity of the European defense industry for a longer perspective in the interests of European security and defense – the European Commission has already submitted relevant proposals to the European Parliament and the Council of the EU.
According to Borrell, all this will allow the EU to fulfill its obligations and supply Ukraine with 1 million shells within 12 months.
For reference:
A meeting of the Council of Ministers of the EU on foreign relations (on defense issues) took place today in Brussels.
On the initiative of the Swedish Presidency of the EU, during the meeting of ministers, an informal working lunch was organized with the participation of the NATO Secretary General, which was entirely devoted to cooperation between the European Union and the Alliance, as well as coordination of efforts to provide Ukraine with military assistance to protect against Russian aggression.
It should be noted that the European Commission transferred another tranche of EUR 1.5 billion to Ukraine as part of the emergency macro-financial assistance package agreed in the EU in 2022.
