The European Commission on Friday guaranteed that it will stick to the target of sending one million large-caliber ammunition to Ukraine by March 2024, without confirming possible delays in the acquisition of these projectiles.
In a response to Lusa, the spokesperson for the Committee on Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Peter Stano claimed that “the goal of one million rounds of ammunition remains an important political objective”.
However, the spokesperson declined to comment on a report published by Bloomberg on Thursday that said European Union (EU) countries have so far secured only about 30% of the total they promised to send to Ukraine.
‘Unfortunately we are not in a position to provide figures [de aquisição] for each Member State […]. We cannot comment on the value of orders [de munições]unit prices, or reveal the names of manufacturers,” the spokesperson added.
Peter Stano added that “different negotiations take place for each type of artillery ammunition and missiles”: “At the same time, other Member States, such as Germany or France, have national acquisition projects.”
According to an article published on Thursday by the Bloomberg agency, the EU-27 have so far only managed to reach 30% of the target of one million rounds of ammunition to help the Ukrainian armed forces in the fight against Russian forces , who have started a military offensive. in the neighboring country in February 2022.
Bloomberg consulted the signatures of contracts for the procurement of ammunition by EU countries and other documents, and also spoke to sources familiar with the process who spoke on condition of anonymity.
At the end of March, the 27 approved a two billion euro package for the purchase of artillery ammunition for Ukraine. Half of the amount is intended for the immediate delivery of large caliber ammunition. The remaining billion are intended for joint acquisition by EU countries.
The Russian military invasion that began more than a year and a half ago quickly depleted the amount of ammunition Ukraine had available to defend its territory.
EU countries and other allies helped Kiev by sending ammunition, especially 155mm ammunition, but this had serious consequences for the supplies of the European bloc’s member states.
In May, the EU announced through the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, that the 27 had sent more than 25% of the total of one million ammunition.
Five months later, according to Bloomberg, member states sent only 5% more of the target that had been formally announced.
The plan is to strengthen ammunition within 12 months, i.e. the target should be achieved by March 2024, but at this pace the EU may not be able to achieve this.
Bloomberg added that the United States has already put pressure on the European political-economic bloc to speed up the acquisition of ammunition, but the White House declined to comment on these allegations.
Large caliber ammunition is an increasingly urgent need for Ukraine. The counter-offensive is being carried out at a slower pace than initially planned.
At the beginning of the invasion, Russia occupied almost 27% of Ukrainian territory, but Ukrainian forces were regaining territory and at the beginning of the year it was forecast that Moscow held only 16% of the territory.
Today the percentage may be slightly lower, but the area under Russian occupation, in Donetsk and Luhansk, and Crimea – the Ukrainian peninsula annexed in 2014 – is well protected, making it difficult for tanks to cross.
Furthermore, the long and bloody battle for Bakhmut further reduced the ammunition supply Kiev had at its disposal.
Source: DN
