Finland to produce ammunition for Ukraine

Finland will soon start the production of artillery ammunition for Ukraine, according to the Finnish Minister of Defense, Antti Kaikkonen, in an interview with Iltalehti.

"We have completed negotiations on how Finland will continue to increase artillery ammunition production for Ukraine. A decision on this will be made very soon," said the Finnish defense minister. "We're announcing a significant increase in ammunition production. We intend to support Ukraine even more strongly than before. At the same time, we will further enhance the readiness of Finland and Northern European countries for ammunition production." 

Kaikkonen stressed that the decision to start producing ammunition for Ukraine will likely be made before Christmas.

Rubryka reported that the German arms conglomerate Rheinmetall won a large order for 155mm artillery ammunition for Ukraine, with the NATO country ordering the ammunition remaining unnamed.

Earlier, the European Commission urged EU countries to press the defense industry to increase ammunition production for Ukraine.

"The problem is not in production capacity but in contract signing," said European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton to members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg.

He stressed that "according to estimates, EU member countries are not signing a sufficient number of contracts."

"Defense ministers [of the EU] must strongly ask their defense companies to prioritize Ukraine, at least for the next few months," added Breton.

Supplying ammunition to Ukraine

On May 3, the Council of the EU approved a decision to allocate €1 billion in assistance to Ukraine for joint purchases of ammunition and missiles.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal noted that EU countries would start sending ammunition to Ukraine right away.

Before that, EU countries had several failed attempts to agree on joint ammunition purchases for Ukraine.

As reported, in September, the European Defense Agency signed eight contracts with the industry for the joint purchase of 155mm ammunition for Ukraine.

Rubryka previously reported that, to date, the European Union has delivered about 300,000 promised artillery ammunition out of a million to Ukraine.