Kuleba outlines 3 steps for EU to increase ammunition supplies to Ukraine
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba (Photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba believes that the European Union needs to take three main steps to increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine, according to his statement at a press conference with EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrell in Kyiv on February 7.
In particular, Kuleba calls on the governments of EU countries to sign long-term contracts with defense companies. This will help to increase the production capacities of such companies and significantly speed up the delivery of shells to Ukraine.
"The second step is to remove all regulatory barriers to the interaction between European defense companies and between European and Ukrainian companies. So that there are no obstacles to interaction between them," the minister says.
The third step, in his opinion, is negotiations between European companies and governments to restructure and redirect existing contracts for the supply of shells from these countries to Ukraine.
"Also in this category is the increase of ammunition from third countries, from their stocks or production capacities. If we act comprehensively on all these tracks, then the increase in artillery shells on the front line will be tangible and everything is within reach," Kuleba believes.
Million shells from the EU
In early May of last year, the EU Council approved a decision to provide assistance to Ukraine in the amount of one billion euros for joint purchases of ammunition and missiles.
It was planned that European countries would provide Ukraine with a million shells by March 2024. It is now known that EU countries have not been able to fully implement the plan. According to Bloomberg, by March, the EU will be able to provide Ukraine with 600,000 ammunition.
During his address to the European Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that Europe should not lose the global competition. He reminded that North Korea supplied Russia with a million shells.
