EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs commit to supply 1 million artillery ammunition to Ukraine

The EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs have agreed to supply Ukraine with 1 million 155 mm artillery ammunition during the year.

Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defense of Estonia, made the announcement during a conversation with journalists.

He noted that a political decision had been made, but the process of agreeing details was still ongoing. Pevkur emphasized it was the issue of the ammunition transfer mechanism that was being resolved.

“Today we all say together that we will hand over 1 million ammunitions to Ukraine. Now we will find a solution. These will be stocks of EU member states, or they will be purchases at the expense of the European Peace Fund. Various options are available for this. I am sure that the people who ensure the solution of the technical details will agree on everything,” Hanno Pevkur told journalists.

He also emphasized that in order to quickly meet the needs of Ukraine, third countries might be involved, and ammunition would be bought from them.

Earlier there was information that EU member states had agreed on a plan to supply ammunition to Ukraine. The plan also covers speeding up and increasing the production of artillery shells at defense enterprises in the EU.

This will enable replenishment of the arsenals of European countries and their supply to Ukraine.

The EU has previously identified 15 enterprises in 11 countries that can produce 155mm artillery rounds, and five manufacturers of 152mm Soviet-type rounds. Besides, work is underway to find new companies that are able to fulfill such an order.

Among the countries that may be involved in the purchase of ammunition is likely to be South Korea.

At the same time, the day before, FT journalists reported that European companies lacked components to manufacture ammunition, and there was no question of increasing their production or additional purchases.

Also, the surge in demand for ammunition may led to higher prices for munitions.