EU supplies over 980,000 shells to Ukraine High rep says

EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell has said that the EU member states provided Ukraine with over 980,000 shells.

Moreover, the EU member states are on track to fulfil their commitment of delivering 1 million by the end of the year, despite initially promising to do so till spring, Caliber.Az reports via Russian media. 

Borrell confirmed the progress, stating, "We have already delivered more than 980,000 rounds, and very soon we will deliver 1 million rounds. I know that we committed to reaching this level by spring and we failed. But by the end of the year, we will be able to. And we have accelerated significantly for this purpose."

The EU's top diplomat acknowledged that the EU had to "significantly accelerate" its efforts to supply ammunition to Ukraine.

"When we promised to reach the level of 1 million shells a year by spring, we did not know what the real production capacity was, and it was not as high as we thought. But now, we have the necessary manufacturing capacity," he explained. 

Despite missing the original deadline, Borrell confirmed that the EU plans to deliver over 1.5 million shells to Ukraine by the end of the year.  

In response to a question about supplies for 2025, Borrell stated that the EU would be able to continue providing Ukraine with "the same volume of ammunition" once it reaches "steady production capacity."  

He also lamented that while the EU could be "moving faster," each step of assistance had been delayed due to "lengthy discussions" within the EU.  

In February 2023, Borrell promised that EU member states would deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine within the year. 

However, by early March 2024, the European Commission was forced to acknowledge that the promise had been fulfilled by less than half. Subsequently, EU officials began reframing their statements to suggest that the goal of one million shells would be met by the end of 2024. 

Borrell himself admitted in February that the EU lacked a "magic wand" to produce more ammunition for Ukraine. By mid-March, Ukrainian authorities expressed dissatisfaction, reporting they had received only about 400,000 shells.

By Naila Huseynova