Estonia sent a proposal to the bloc member states, Bloomberg reports.
Estonia argues that Russia is currently firing as much ammunition into Ukraine in one day as Europe can produce in a month. Therefore, the EU urgently needs to increase its defense-industrial potential to help the Ukrainian military continue the fight.
“We must make an extraordinary effort toward rapid decision-making and implementation of the initiative, as soon as possible, already in 2023 – this is what the severity of Ukraine’s situation requires. The price of any delay is very high, and it is going up each day,” the document says.
The plan will allow the European industry to increase its capacity sevenfold and produce the 1 million 155mm shells requested by Ukraine over the next six months, the proposal says.
An additional EUR 4 billion for the joint purchase of ammunition could be added to the EU's existing European Peace Fund, which is currently used to reimburse countries for their military support of Ukraine.
In the document, Estonia points out that Ukraine currently uses an average of 60,000 to 210,000 rounds of ammunition per month, but the European defense industry is only capable of producing 25,000 rounds in the same time, so it would take up to four years to meet Kyiv's needs. Meanwhile, Russia produces about 20,000 to 60,000 shells a day.
NATO nations are seeking to increase production capacity and this week agreed to raise requirements for ammunition stockpiles to better plan for potential future conflict.
On February 16, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin arrived in Estonia for talks with Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, with support for Ukraine among the main topics.
On February 15, the United States signed contracts with two manufacturers to produce 155 mm howitzer shells to meet Ukraine's needs.