EU's Borrell addresses European depleting arms stocks, calls to stop arms assistance

Josep Borrell, the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has disclosed figures pointing to depleted stocks of the Union's defence equipment.

"Ukraine’s EU arms stockpiles are being depleted because we have not provided the necessary funding for years. What we send to Kyiv, we take not from the warehouses, but from our armies," he said in his speech at the annual EDA Investing in European Defence held in Brussels on December 8.

According to Borrel, all EU countries spent €214 billion for defence purposes in 2021, which is 6% more than in 2020 with Greece, Finland, Italy and Slovenia having shown the largest increases in defence spending, RBC-Ukraine reported.

"I know that public opinion prefers oil over guns, definitely, but we have underinvested for years. And these warehouses quickly become empty because they were almost empty", Borrell stressed.

He further mentioned, that according to statements made by European governments against the backdrop of the Russian aggression against Ukraine indicate that the growth of defence spending will continue in the following years.

He called on allies to build up their defence systems and on military contractors to provide information on what they are capable of producing, how fast and in which volumes.

As RBC-Ukraine reported, Borrell also touched upon critical voices expressed in regard to European support of Ukraine, stating "I know that there is the public opinion in Europe that states that the longer we help Ukraine, the longer the war will last. 'If you want to stop the war, stop supporting Ukraine and the war will end'. Of course! But how will it end? This is an important question. This war cannot end with Russia’s victory and the occupation of Ukraine. We must continue to support Ukraine".