Europe Plans to Deliver Two Million Shells to Ukraine as Soon as Possible

The European Union has already collected 2/3 of the resources needed to implement the initiative to supply Ukraine with 2 million shells, which should arrive in Ukraine as soon as possible, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said at a press conference in Luxembourg following the Foreign Affairs Council.

The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukrinform.

‘When it comes to the initiative to deliver 2 million shells to Ukraine, I am pleased that we have already reached two-thirds of this goal. We still don't have 100 per cent, but... we have to move forward. The overwhelming majority of member states agreed that we must do more. I am also pleased to see that Norway has contributed €400 million,’ said Kallas.

Regarding the timeframe for the implementation of the projectile initiative, the EU High Representative noted that the ammunition should be delivered to Ukraine as soon as possible.

‘They need this ammunition as soon as possible because the attacks continue and cause heavy civilian casualties. That is why Ukrainians need ammunition. They need air defence, and they need it as soon as possible... Of course, we have commitments, but they must be accompanied by actions. Some member states have already offered munitions, others have offered funding for munitions. The Czech initiative has already identified the munitions that are available. The European External Action Service has done the same. So we can move quite quickly,’ the EU High Representative said.

She reminded that this year, member states have pledged more than €23 billion to Ukraine, while last year the amount was €20 billion. According to Kallas, together with assistance from the United States, Ukraine received military aid worth about 40 billion euros last year, so the EU has room to grow.

‘We are the largest supplier of military aid to Ukraine. But we are also the biggest buyer of the Ukrainian defence industry, we are the biggest supporter. We also have a mission to train Ukrainian soldiers - more than 73,000 have already been trained. Today we also discussed what we can do more, whether we should expand the mandate of our missions to also contribute to security guarantees within the Coalition of the Willing,’ Kallas said.

The EU Foreign Affairs Council held a meeting in Luxembourg, with the situation in Ukraine as the first item on the agenda.

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha took part in the meeting via teleconference.

As The Gaze reported earlier, the European Union is planning a defence initiative for Ukraine, which provides for additional military assistance worth €40 billion, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas said in Brussels.