Ursula von der Leyen urges to provide Ukraine with long-range weapons

The European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said this during a speech at the GLOBSEC 2023 security forum.

The European Commission President called on "everyone who can" to provide Ukraine with long-range artillery and weapons.

"The immediate need – you know it – is the military assistance to sustain the efforts of the Ukrainian armed forces. This is why we have just proposed an ammunition production act – we call it ASAP. We want to push our defence industry to ramp up production of badly needed 155-millimetre and 152-millimetre artillery shells. And those who can, should provide long-range artillery and weapons systems that can help Ukraine level the battlefield gap in range to the invading forces," von der Leyen said.

She also stressed that support is also needed for the combat training of the Ukrainian army.

"The Member States are doing a lot and we, at the European level, are doing our fair share, too. By the end of the year, we will have trained 30,000 servicemen and servicewomen," President von der Leyen added.

According to her, a ceasefire that will freeze the conflict will not bring lasting peace.

• The European Commission has allocated a new tranche of macro-financial assistance to Ukraine worth €1.5 billion. The funds will be used to pay salaries, pensions and repair critical infrastructure.