Europe is expected to receive only 530,000 of the promised 1 million artillery shells by the end of March Ukraine have delivered. This is what European foreign representative Josep Borell said in Brussels after an informal meeting of European Defense Ministers in the Egmont Palace in Brussels.
In March 2023, the European member states agreed to send 1 million 155mm grenades to Ukraine, the standard artillery ammunition that all NATO member states use for their various systems. But it soon became clear that this target was too ambitious and European defense companies were unable to significantly scale up their production capacity in the short term.
That’s why we struggle Ukraine currently experiencing an ammunition shortage. While the Russian army can fire up to 10,000 shells per day,… Ukraine compares this with an average of only 2,000.
“We have already delivered 330,000 grenades,” Borrell said in Brussels. “I expect that figure to rise by 200,000 by the end of March.” By the end of this year, that number should increase to 1.1 million ammunition delivered. According to Borrell, the Member States have committed to supplying an additional 630,000 rounds of ammunition. Then you have to production has gained steam and a European annual production of 1.4 million units should be possible.
During a press conference alongside Belgian Defense Minister Ludivine Dedonder (PS), Borrell defended the European efforts as “work in progress“. The High Representative emphasized that production capacity has been increased by 40 percent since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “If there is no production capacity, we cannot produce,” he said.
Borrell also announced that Europe wants to train another 20,000 soldiers this year, in addition to the 40,000 who already received basic training in various European countries last year. In addition, the Member States want to provide military support for a total of 21 billion euros again this year.
This morning, the heads of government of Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Estonia and the Czech Republic also submitted an open letter The Financial Times already indicated that “the hard truth” is that the European ammunition target had not been achieved. The five leaders called on their European colleagues to redouble their efforts (see message 11.15 am).
