The head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrel, said that 24 EU countries have joined the initiative to expand the production of 155 mm artillery shellsBRUSSELS, May 23.
/tass/. The EU countries delivered 220 thousand artillery shells and 1,300 missiles to Ukraine in 2023 for a total amount of €800 million. This was stated on Tuesday by the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrel at a press conference following a meeting of the EU Defense Council.
"The latest data showed that EU countries provided 220,000 artillery shells of various calibers and 1,300 missiles," he said.
According to him, the EU countries themselves must partially pay for the 220 thousand shells transferred to Ukraine, and the European Peace Fund (also created with contributions from EU members) must partially pay. "At the same time, in total, the European Peace Fund received requests for compensation [for arms supplies to Ukraine] in the amount of €10 billion," the head of EU diplomacy added.
Borrel also said that the EU sets a task to transfer 1 million more ammunition to Ukraine in the next 12 months. "The goal is to deliver about 1 million over the next 12 months. We will ask the member countries to supply ammunition from their stocks, and not wait for production," he said. The politician said that 24 EU countries have joined the initiative to expand the production of 155 mm artillery shells, for which € 1 billion has been allocated. Borrel clarified that the European Defense Agency is dealing with this issue.