The European Union has fulfilled its goal of supplying 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine, the bloc’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced on Tuesday.
The ammunition had been delivered to Ukraine “some months later than expected,” Borrell admitted at a press conference following a meeting of EU defence ministers in Brussels.
The EU had originally planned to deliver 1 million artillery shells by the end of March. By that point, only a little more than half of the planned amount had been delivered. The EU then set a new target to reach this goal by the end of 2024.
Borrell said the bloc would continue to deliver ammunition to Ukraine “because Russia continues receiving a substantial delivery of ammunition and missiles from North Korea and Iran.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a plan to the Ukrainian parliament to increase the country’s resilience, including through massive investments in armaments.
Zelensky said Ukrainian-made weapons were one of the main guarantees of Ukrainian independence.
Ukraine has been defending itself against Russia’s full-scale invasion since February 2022 with Western support.
A general view during the Letters of Intent signing ceremony of the European Defence Agency (EDA) at the EU Council headquarters in Brussels. Frederic Garrido-Ramirez/EU Council/dpa
