EU summit supports joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine
European Union leaders have welcomed a plan to provide Ukraine with one million artillery munitions over the next 12 months to help counter the Russian invasion.
Source: conclusions of the EU summit on 23 March on Ukraine, quoted by European Pravda
The conclusions, supported by the leaders of all 27 EU countries, said that the EU and its member states are stepping up efforts to help meet Ukraine's urgent military and defence needs.
Quote: "Taking into account the security and defence interests of all member states, the European Council welcomes the agreement reached in the Council [of the EU – ed.] on the urgent supply of surface-to-surface munitions and artillery munitions and, if necessary, missiles to Ukraine, including through joint procurement and mobilisation of appropriate funding," the summit concluded.
The leaders emphasised that Ukraine would receive one million artillery munitions within the next 12 months without compromising the security and defence policies of the member states.
On 20 March, EU foreign and defence ministers approved the plan for an accelerated procurement procedure.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in a video address to the EU summit on Thursday, thanked the leaders for this initiative and called for speeding up the delivery of weapons, "or else the war will drag on".
The EU leaders also condemned the military support of Russia by Belarus and Iran.
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