The EU is falling behind the schedule according to which it planned to provide Ukraine with 1 million artillery shells by March 2024, Bloomberg reported, citing sources familiar with the situation. According to the agency, the plan is currently only 30 percent implemented. This could give Russian forces an advantage in the supply of ammunition.
According to the plan presented by the EU at the end of March 2023, the member states of the Union commit to transfer 1 million artillery munitions to Ukraine in the next 12 months. It is assumed that part of the supply will be ensured through the EU member states' own stocks, and another part - through joint purchases and increased production capacity.
However, according to Bloomberg's sources, the plan is only 30% completed so far, although more than half of the announced time has already passed. The agency also notes that given the contracts signed so far, the EU's supply target for Ukraine may not be met at all. Some EU member states have asked the European External Action Service to extend the terms of the agreement.
According to data from the European Commission, since February 2022, the EU has provided Ukraine with aid in the amount of 90 billion dollars. A third of that amount, or about $27 billion, is military aid. According to the head of the EU's foreign policy office, Josep Borrell, since the beginning of 2023, Ukraine has received 300,000 155 mm caliber shells and 2,600 rockets from European countries. /BGNES
