2023-04-25 06:05:48
The head of European diplomacy calls for providing more ammunition to Ukraine
According to Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the supply of ammunition to the Ukrainian army must be rapidly increased.
“We know that Ukraine urgently needs ammunition and missiles, and it needs them to defend its territory,” said Monday, the head of European diplomacy, after a meeting of foreign ministers of the European Union (EU) in Luxembourg.
“More than a thousand missiles have been delivered, as well as a number of munitions, the number of which continues to increase, but it is expected to increase more rapidly in the coming days”, he added.
While waiting for a “just peace” be found in the conflict with Russia, Mr Borrell said that the European Union would continue to support Ukraine’s defence. According to him, the EU has provided more than 13 billion euros in military support to Kyiv. An additional tranche of one billion euros for the joint purchase of new ammunition is being finalized. “There have been some disagreements, but the work continues. We are not waiting for the legal document to be completed to start working,” he confided.
EU members have agreed to buy ammunition from companies based in the European bloc or in Norway, which has close economic ties with it. But, according to diplomats, France insists that production be carried out in Europe, faithful to its partisan line of a stronger European defense sector. This position has angered several EU countries, including Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, which have expressed doubts about the ability of European industry to produce enough ammunition in a short time.
Furthermore, Josep Borrell said that “more than 16,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been trained” by the European Union. “The objective is still to train 30,000 soldiers by the end of the year”he added.
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