Estonian Defense Minister explains where to find ammunition for Ukraine

He said this in Toledo, Spain, where an informal meeting of EU defense ministers is taking place, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

According to him, the EU has supplied 226,000 rounds of ammunition to Ukraine in six months, and this fact requires a review of the pace of ammunition supplies.

Pevkur emphasized that there are three ways the EU can speed up the pace of its assistance.

"We have initiated a program to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine, and we have to continue it. We have not yet reached the goal and can do more. There are different options for this. The first is to continue using our existing stockpiles. The second is to look at how we can restore old shells. And thirdly, if this is not enough, we have to consider buying from third countries," he explained.

The defense minister also emphasized that buying shells from third countries can be a good alternative, as their restoration can be cheaper for these countries than buying new ones.

"There are many countries that have such shells in their arsenals, and they can be restored at a lower price than we could buy new ones... We see that the industry is increasing production, but it is still not enough, even if we can reach the goal of 1 million by the end of the year or early next year," he said.

The minister noted that the ability of the European industry to produce 1 million rounds of ammunition annually is still not sufficient, because some countries will buy shells for their own needs, and some companies will sell ammunition to third countries.

He pointed out that all options should be considered to boost the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, including increasing its production, restoring old ammunition, and buying it from third countries, if necessary.

"If we fail to do so, unfortunately, more lives will be lost in Ukraine. We see that they are making some progress towards Tokmak, which is currently a hotspot. But we should also understand that this is very, very hard work that they are doing. They are moving forward centimeter by centimeter, through very large minefields and under Russian fire," Pevkur said.

The Estonian defense minister believes that 1 million ammunition for Ukraine is a minimum, given the real needs of Ukrainians, who use 6,000-7,000 shells a day.

He also emphasized that Estonia "supports any proposals that bring new money to enhance assistance to Ukraine" and insists on increasing aid.

"Just imagine - the total GDP of the EU is 16 trillion euros. So when you look at the European Peace Facility, which consists of 4.6 billion, it is about 0.03% of GDP. This is what we are providing to Ukraine now. Obviously, we can do more, and this is the goal. These 20 billion will help us achieve it," he said.

• At a meeting on August 10, the Estonian government supported the proposal of Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur to provide Ukraine with 150 pieces of weapons and ammunition.