ΤΑ ΜΙΣΑ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΑΝΑΠΛΗΡΩΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΕΥΡΩΠΑΪΚΩΝ ΑΠΟΘΕΜΑΤΩΝ
- 27 Apr 2023
- international
The European Union yesterday approved spending 2 billion euros to buy and ship ammunition for Ukraine's artillery, European diplomatic sources told AFP.
EU foreign ministers approved a three-phase action plan to provide Ukraine's military with at least one million 155 mm shells and replenish European countries' strategic stockpiles, some of which are on the brink of depletion, according to representatives of five delegations.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who participated in the teleconference of his EU counterparts, welcomed the agreement.
“More ammunition for Ukraine as fast as possible. This was the main objective of the EU Foreign Affairs Council today," he said in his message on Twitter. "This agreement will strengthen Ukraine's capabilities on the battlefield," the Ukrainian foreign minister said.
The agreement, which was put up for approval at the Union's summit on Thursday and Friday, is a response to a call made on March 9 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The agreement stipulates that the one billion euros will be used to restore the stockpiles of the member countries, at a price of 1,000 to 1,300 euros per shell and shipment on May 31.
A second billion euros will be used for the joint purchase of 155 mm ammunition for Ukraine.
The third phase of the plan envisages increasing the production capacity of EU arms industries to fill the strategic stockpiles of EU countries and to continue supplying Ukrainian forces.
The two billion euros will come from the European Peace Mechanism, an intergovernmental fund set up by member states outside the European budget that has been used since the start of the Russian invasion to supply Ukraine with weapons.
