The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, on Wednesday at an informal meeting of European defense ministers held in Stockholm, insisted that Ukraine urgently needs ammunition, which is in the reserves of EU member states, to resist Russian aggression, AFP reports. and EFE.

“Ukrainians need them now. Member countries, fortunately for them, are not at war, so they can wait” for supplies to replenish their stocks depleted by military aid to Ukraine, Borrell said.

The European External Action Service, led by Borrell, has asked member states to contribute another billion euros to the so-called “European Peace Fund” (EPF) to finance the purchase of around 250,000 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine, a proposal discussed at a meeting in Stockholm.

However, Ukraine says that it needs at least four times more, that is, at least one million shells of this caliber. At this meeting, European ministers are also discussing ways to increase the ammunition production capacity of the European defense industry.

The Ukrainian army, which fires thousands of rounds a day to push back Russian troops, is running out of 155mm rounds and has warned its Western allies about it in recent weeks.

“Our number one priority is air defense systems, but (we need) also ammunition, ammunition and more,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said after arriving in Stockholm.

Head of NATO: Bakhmut may fall in the coming days

The purpose of the meeting in the Swedish capital is to advance to specific decisions to be made at the meeting of foreign ministers of European countries on March 20, while the Ukrainian army is under threat of encirclement in the city of Bakhmut, besieged by Russian troops, the hottest spot. on the front.

“We cannot rule out that Bakhmut will eventually fall in the coming days,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Stockholm. The possible fall of this city into the hands of Russian troops will open a “free path” to the east of Ukraine for them, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, warned earlier.

Stoltenberg noted that the war in Ukraine “has become a war of attrition, which is a logistical battle”, and the current difference between the amount of ammunition used by the Ukrainian army and the production of NATO countries that supply ammunition to Ukraine “is not sustainable, so it is necessary to increase production rates”. (Source Agerpres)

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