Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the European community to do "everything possible to urgently increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine, in particular, cancel export contracts and direct all available European production to the needs of the Ukrainian front and European defense."

"On Monday, February 19, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba took part in a meeting of the Council of EU Foreign Ministers and called on European colleagues to make every possible effort to urgently increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine, in particular to cancel export contracts and direct all available European production to the needs of the Ukrainian front and European defense," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said on its official website.

"Every artillery shell that is currently being produced in Europe should serve the defense of Europe. We must make this a rule," the minister said, quoted by the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

As reported, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry told the heads of European diplomacy "about the barbaric Russian tactics of "meat assaults" and called on European colleagues to take immediate decisions to provide Ukrainian soldiers with the necessary amount of artillery shells as soon as possible."

In particular, Kuleba called on European governments to conclude more long-term contracts to establish new production lines, jointly search outside Europe for shells that can be purchased and shipped to Ukraine, as well as cancel contracts for the supply of European shells to third countries and redirect them to the needs of the Ukrainian soldier and European defense.

"The Russian threat to Europe will not disappear. Unfortunately, we have a new revanchist evil that threatens the whole of Europe. You all feel that the atmosphere has changed. Five generations of Europeans have grown up under peaceful skies in the previous eight decades, and this is the greatest historical achievement of Europe and the EU. Unfortunately, there is now the smoke of war in the east in the European sky, and the smell of war is already in the European air. But with timely and sufficient support, Ukraine is able to defeat Russian aggression and avoid the worst-case scenario for Europe," he said.

The minister stressed that everyone is now focused on stopping Russia and preventing a major war in Europe. But the only way to prevent this catastrophe is to give the Ukrainian army the opportunity to defeat the Russian invaders on their land.

Kuleba also called for the necessary steps to be taken as soon as possible for the practical start of negotiations on Ukraine's accession to the EU, the creation of a separate mechanism for military assistance within the framework of the European Peace Facility, the confiscation of frozen Russian assets and an increase in sanction pressure on the Russian Federation.