EU to deliver half of 1 million artillery rounds promised to Ukraine by March – Borrell
The European Union will deliver half of 1 million artillery rounds promised to Ukraine by March, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said on February 3.
"In March 2023, the EU and its member states committed to deliver 1 million artillery rounds to Ukraine within one year. Based on the information we have received so far – once again, not all member states have already sent their input – we will have delivered 524,000 rounds, 52% of the objective, by March," he said in a statement posted on the website of the EU Diplomatic Service.
"We know that the battle is fierce in the frontline, that our Ukrainian friends need urgently more ammunition and that we are far away from the goal. However, we also knew from the start that the objective set last year was very ambitious," Borrell said.
The EU diplomacy head emphasized that world shortage of ammunition, bottlenecks in the supply chain, limited stocks and necessary lead-time for new investment are some of the reasons for this delay.
He also announced the donation of additional ammunition rounds to Ukraine until the end of the year.
"It is a work in progress. According to the information received from our member states, 631,000 additional ammunition rounds will be donated to Ukraine until the end of the year," Borrell said.