The countries of the European Union are calling for one billion euros to be allocated in March to meet the obligations regarding the urgent supply of ammunition for the Ukrainian army, European diplomatic sources said on Wednesday, quoted by AFP.
European leaders promised the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to speed up the supply of weapons and ammunition for the Ukrainian army to repel a new offensive by Russian troops.
According to a document seen by AFP, the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, has asked EU countries to contribute another billion euros to the European Peace Fund (EPF), a fund used to buy weapons for Ukraine, which will next be used to buy projectiles of the caliber 155 mm used by Ukrainian artillery, Agerpres notes.
Such financing would allow to quickly deliver to Ukraine about 250,000 155-mm projectiles, purchased at a price of 4,000 euros per piece, according to experts in Brussels.
European defense ministers will discuss this proposal at a meeting on March 7 in Stockholm.
The Ukrainian army consumes more ammunition than NATO countries can produce
While Estonia asked for 4 billion euros in the EFF to buy a million shells for Ukraine, Borrell asked EU countries to withdraw ammunition from their strategic stockpiles to transfer to Ukraine and thus help that country in its war with Russia. , a high-intensity conflict characterized by high ammunition consumption.
“Is it urgent. We must quickly mobilize the means at our disposal and act with what we have,” Borrell emphasized on February 21 at a joint press conference with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
The latter signaled that the Ukrainian army consumes many times more ammunition than the countries of the Alliance can produce, the stocks of which have also significantly decreased as a result of the military aid provided to Ukraine.
EU countries have already provided 3.5 billion euros to the European Peace Fund (EPF) for the purchase of weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, meanwhile, an additional 2 billion euros have been agreed to be allocated for the same purposes. EU countries contribute to this fund, from which they then receive money for weapons and ammunition transferred to Ukraine.
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Source: Hot News
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