The European Union is urgently exploring ways for its member states to come together to buy ammunition to help Ukraine after Kyiv warned that the Armed Forces needed an immediate increase in stockpiles.
This was stated by diplomats and officials, writes Reuters.
EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the idea of a joint purchase of 155-mm artillery shells at a meeting in Brussels on February 20.
According to EU officials and diplomats, a joint approach would be more effective than countries placing individual orders. Larger orders will also help the industry invest in additional capacity.
"It is high time to really speed up production and expand the production of standardized products that Ukraine desperately needs," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the annual Munich Security Conference on February 18.
Von der Leyen later said she was confident the urgency of the situation would convince EU members to abandon their long-standing preferences for arms purchases at the national level.
"In this brutal war that Russia has waged against Ukraine, we see that we can move mountains under pressure," she said in an interview with Reuters and other news organizations.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that Ukraine is using up artillery shells faster than its allies can currently produce them.
According to an Estonian newspaper obtained by Reuters, Ukrainian forces fire between 2,000 and 7,000 artillery shells per day, while Russia uses between 20,000 and 60,000.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced progress in the discussions regarding the provision of long-range missiles to the Ukrainian military.
In addition, Germany's promised Leopard II tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles will arrive in Ukraine in March of this year.
Meanwhile, the member states of the European Union could not agree on the tenth package of sanctions against Russia. The cause of disagreements was synthetic rubber of Russian production, from which rubber and various ebonites are obtained.
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