We need to urgently give all EU armies' ammunition to Ukraine – Borrell

Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has called on the EU member states to send Ukraine their ammunition reserves that the Ukrainian army needs to resist the Russian Federation.

Source: European Pravda citing Borrel’s statement at the meeting of the EU Foreign Ministers on Monday

Details: "We have to launch procedures to increase the capacity of the European industry to produce more [ammunition - ed.] and quicker. And it is obvious that we have to enhance our efforts not only with possible procurement at the EU level for meeting Ukraine’s current needs," Borrell said. 

In addition, the EU High Representative has pointed out that "the best way to provide ammunition to Ukraine is to share the already existing stockpiles of the European armies". 

"We do not need to wait when it [ammunition – ed.] is manufactured. We need to use what is produced already and being stored in storage points and will be produced in the nearest days. Priority has to be given to the supplies for the Ukrainian army, as much as we can," he stated. 

Borrel has declared that the EU Foreign Ministers discussed at the meeting on Monday how to provide Ukraine with the necessary amount of ammunition in order to resist the Russian occupation army. 

"But this question goes rather to Defence Ministers than Foreign Ministers. And we will present certain offers to Defence Ministers at the next meeting of the European Council on 7-8 March," he announced. 

The fact that ammunition quantity in the reserves is reducing causes great concern in the EU, as dozens of thousands are spent every day from both sides, Ukrainian and Russian. Even though Ukraine uses all ammunition more efficiently, it still spends it faster than Europe’s production capacity is. At the moment, the USA and the EU are trying to increase the manufacturing for both Ukraine and their own reserves. 

Background: Earlier, media outlets reported that individual members of the European Union supported Estonia's proposal for investments for the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine's needs; a relevant decision might be taken at the EU summit next month.

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