Ukraine has received only 300,000 shells from the EU from the planned million – foreign minister
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba. Photo: Facebook/Dmytro Kuleba
As of today, the European Union has delivered about 300,000 artillery shells to Ukraine out of the promised million, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba stated during a press briefing at the Ukraine-NATO Council meeting.
Reuters reported that in his speech, Ukraine's foreign minister urged allies to collaborate more closely in defense, stressing its necessity for victory over Russia.
Kuleba also highlighted a productive meeting on November 28 with the Slovakian Foreign Minister Juraj Blanár. He assured that the Slovakian service and repair center for Ukrainian heavy machinery would continue its operations.
Meanwhile, European Council President Charles Michel, speaking on France Inter, mentioned that the delivery of a million ammunition to Ukraine would take more time than expected but assured that the promise would be fulfilled.
"We will fulfill our promise to supply Kyiv with a million shells, but it will take a bit more time than we would like. Several additional months will undoubtedly be needed. We must do everything to achieve this goal by 2024," said the head of the European Council.
Michel emphasized that European leaders were determined to support Ukraine significantly. He noted that at the December summit of heads of state and government, efforts would be concentrated on adopting additional measures to financially and militarily support Ukraine.
He further pointed out the recent strategic achievement of the Ukrainian army in crossing the "extremely important strategic element" — the Dnipro River. They also regained control over their territorial waters in the Black Sea.
"We see that without our support, we would not be where we are today, and the question is not whether we should reduce this support but how we can accelerate and strengthen it," said the European Council president.
Supply of ammunition to Ukraine
On May 3, the Council of the EU approved a decision to assist Ukraine with €1 billion for joint purchases of ammunition and missiles.
Previously, the EU countries struggled to reach an agreement on the joint purchase of ammunition for Ukraine.
In September, the European Defense Agency signed eight contracts with the industry to jointly purchase 155mm ammunition for Ukraine.
It was also reported that the United States is trying to increase the supply of critically important 155mm ammunition to Ukraine. They made a deal with Bulgaria and South Korea for the supply of 155mm ammunition to Ukraine.
The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell, previously stated that the EU countries had transferred hundreds of thousands of artillery shells to Ukraine, and they might not meet the commitment to deliver the promised million ammunition by the end of 2023, as planned earlier.
