The head of the European Union's foreign policy service, Josep Borrell, told reporters that EU countries have already supplied Ukraine with 220,000 artillery shells and 1,300 missiles as part of the plan agreed in March. He made the announcement at a press conference in Brussels on Tuesday after a meeting of the Council at the level of defense ministers.
The transfer took place under the first track, which provides for the allocation of ammunition to Ukraine from its own stockpiles with subsequent compensation.
"Through the first track, member states have already provided 220,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibers and 1,300 missiles. This first track will be open until May 31, and we will reach our goal of €1 billion – as of today, €800 million has already been compensated to member states," the high representative said.
Speaking about the second track, which provides for joint purchases of ammunition for Ukraine and to replenish its own stockpiles worth €1 billion, Borrell noted that 24 countries have already shown interest in it.
In addition, "there are two other projects, one led by France and the other by Germany." However, Borrell did not provide details of these projects.
Regarding the third track, which involves increasing the production capacity of the EU and Norwegian defense industries, the high representative referred to European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who "explained that the European industry has the capacity to produce ammunition in the right quantity."
"We hope that in this way we will reach our goal of 1 million ammunition (for Ukraine) in the next 12 months," Borrell said.
Background. Military expert Mykhailo Zhyrokhov told Mind about 5 myths about russian military power that should not be trusted in his article "The Second Army...from the End: 5 myths about russian military power".