EU countries "very close" to joint order of ammunition for Ukraine: it will arrive on time – media

This was announced ahead of the EU foreign ministers meeting to be held on April 24 in Luxembourg, an EU official said, Ukrinform reports.

"On March 20, we reached a political agreement on a trilateral approach. The first way is to facilitate the supply of ammunition to Ukraine from European armies' warehouses and it is already being implemented. The second way is a joint order for the production of 155-mm shells, which have been requested by Ukraine. This is the item being discussed now. It seems that the decision is very close. We all want to help Ukraine, and this is part of our military assistance," the source said.

According to him, the third way to solve the problem of ammunition shortage is through long-term plans and investments in the development of the European defense industry's capabilities.

"The decision on the second track will be made very quickly, probably within the next few days. So, the ammunition will be delivered to Ukraine, and it will arrive on time. This will be another manifestation of our broad military support for Ukraine," the EU official said.

• On March 20, the Council of the European Union approved a plan to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells over 12 months. The plan consists of three stages. At the first stage, EU member states will provide Kyiv with shells from their stockpiles, receiving compensation from the European Peace Facility – a total of 1 billion euros will be allocated for this purpose. In the second stage, the same amount of money will be allocated to sign contracts with artillery ammunition manufacturers, and then the EU states will expand their own production capacity.

• On April 6, the EU countries agreed to deliver shells from warehouses, and the details of ordering new ones are still being discussed