EU falling behind on its plan to supply ammunition to Ukraine – Bloomberg
Photo: Ukrinform
The European Union is behind schedule to deliver a million artillery shells to Ukraine by March next year.
Bloomberg reports, citing sources familiar with the matter, that under plans approved earlier this year, the EU has pledged to provide Ukraine with artillery ammunition within 12 months.
First, they were to build the supply with existing stocks, and then with the help of contracts for joint purchases and the increase of industrial capacity.
According to sources and documents reviewed by the Bloomberg agency, this initiative has so far provided about 30% of the planned amount. Based on the volume of contracts signed today, it risks not achieving its goal.
Several EU member states privately appealed to the EU foreign policy department with a request to extend the term of the contracts, the sources added.
The US, which aims to increase its production to about 1 million projectiles a year in 2024, called on the EU to step up its efforts, the sources told Bloomberg. White House officials declined to comment.
With Ukraine's counteroffensive making limited progress and allies gearing up for a protracted war, the ammunition supplies promised by the EU are critical to helping Ukraine keep pace with Russian production.
According to some estimates, Russian factories will supply 2 million shells next year, while Moscow has also received supplies from North Korea and continues to buy Soviet-era shells.
EU member states are reluctant to provide specific data on what they have provided or the contracts they have signed.
Some countries, however, have shared the numbers privately. About a dozen countries, including the Baltic states, Germany, the Netherlands, and Poland, have delivered or plan to deliver between 300,000 and 400,000 rounds of ammunition, mostly as part of the EU initiative.
Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and non-EU Norway have placed orders worth €52 million, with production starting next year.
According to one of the sources, the price of ammunition has increased since the initiative was launched, which means that the current budget may not be sufficient to achieve its goals.
These figures do not include all shipments made after the start of Russia's full-scale war, and some countries may have supplied ammunition from outside the EU or may not have disclosed information about their shipments.
Some EU member states like Ukraine are also implementing their own procurement programs and seeking to strengthen their industrial capacity.
Meanwhile, NATO is pushing its member countries to overcome protectionist tendencies and agree on a single standard of artillery ammunition to increase their production.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was concerned that the war between Israel and Hamas would divert the attention of the US and its allies from Ukraine's struggle to reclaim its territory from Russian occupiers.
Bloomberg reports that Ukraine's leaders were already on edge after President Joe Biden canceled an aid package to Ukraine under a deal with Republicans on Oct. 1 to avert a government shutdown.
Biden is now seeking more than $60 billion in aid for Ukraine, as well as more aid for Israel, but he may face resistance from Republican lawmakers who have become even warier about sending additional money to Kyiv.
Supply of ammunition to Ukraine
Rubryka reported that in May this year, the Council of the EU approved an aid package worth €1 billion for the joint procurement of ammunition and missiles for Ukraine.
At that time, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that the EU countries would then send ammunition to Ukraine.
Before that, the EU countries failed several times to agree on the joint purchase of ammunition for Ukraine.
As reported, in September, the European Defense Agency signed eight contracts with defense companies for the joint purchase of 155-mm ammunition for Ukraine.
It was also reported that the US was trying to increase the supply of 155-mm ammunition, which is critical for Ukraine. The country agreed on the supply of ammunition to Ukraine with Bulgaria and South Korea.
