European Union countries on Wednesday finalized an agreement on joint purchases of ammunition for Ukraine after weeks of misunderstandings and disagreements that frustrated leaders in Kyiv, Reuters reported.

EU ambassadors approved the deal at a meeting in Brussels, ending a row over whether these munitions contracts should be awarded to EU and non-EU companies, or whether they should only be produced within the bloc.

Sweden, which currently chairs the EU, said that the ambassadors approved the decision “to support the Ukrainian armed forces with 1 billion euros for the joint purchase of ammunition and missiles.”

Details of the deal were not immediately available.

The joint procurement mechanism is part of a wider EU push to supply Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells and missiles over the next 12 months, following requests from Kyiv, which urgently needs such munitions to repel a Russian invasion.

EU foreign ministers approved the master plan in March, but the procurement scheme could not be finalized for weeks as governments argued over eligibility rules.

EU countries have already agreed to limit this mechanism to companies in the EU and Norway, which has close economic ties to the bloc.

But diplomats said France, which has its own significant arms industry, insisted that the actual production take place in Europe.

This position disappointed other EU members, in particular the Eastern and Baltic countries, Germany and the Netherlands.

They expressed skepticism that European industry could quickly produce enough shells without even using non-EU components.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed disappointment last month that the agreement has not yet been implemented, warning that “the price of inaction is measured in human lives.”