France slows down EU plans to resupply Ukraine with artillery shell stocks

France has been accused of stalling European Union (EU) plans to replenish Ukraine's dwindling artillery shells stockpile by demanding the ammunition be manufactured inside the bloc.

Paris wants guarantees that a €2 billion deal to jointly procure weapons would only benefit firms the EU-based, unnamed European sources told The Telegraph.

The demand came during talks over a new Brussels-led scheme to purchase one million 155 mm artillery shells to bolster supplies to Kyiv and fill depleted national armouries.

Under the scheme, member states would be given cash incentives to centralise and coordinate procurement among themselves in the hope of placing orders large enough to convince arms manufacturers to ramp up production.

French officials argued only defence firms based in the EU should be allowed to access the lucrative new contracts.

Critics of the French demand warned that this risked slowing down support for Ukraine because manufacturing capacity could be readily available outside the EU.

So far, EU countries have only provided Ukraine with 350,000 155mm artillery shells, which Kyiv says it desperately needs more of to maintain its defensive lines and launch its anticipated spring counter-offensive.