Borrell confirms a thousand missiles delivered to Ukraine but acknowledges that the EU is far from the ammunition targets

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BRUSSELS, 24 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, has confirmed this Monday that the block has already delivered a thousand missiles to Ukraine within the framework of its plan to mobilize the existing stocks in the European Armies, although he has acknowledged that it is still far in terms of ammunition from the goal of providing one million shots to Ukraine.

At a press conference from Luxembourg after the meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers, Borrell urged the Twenty-seven to speed up the delivery of artillery ammunition demanded by Kiev in order to maintain the military effort in Donbas, at the gates of the offensive that expects to launch the Ukrainian Army in late spring.

“I cannot specify the figure because it changes every day, but it is true that the delivery of military resources from the Member States is concentrated in missiles and ammunition has figures that do not reach the prospects that I and the (minister of Ukrainian Foreign Affairs) Dimitro Kuleba”, said the High Representative.

The EU must “force the pace” and “increase the deliveries” of this type of material, has defended Borrell, who has insisted that he will convey to the defense ministers the urgency of accelerating deliveries to Kiev. “The only way to counter Russian attacks is with a capability that is critically dependent on our help,” he said.

The meeting of European foreign ministers was marked by Ukraine’s complaints about the “inability” of the EU to adopt the plan for joint purchases of ammunition agreed a month ago by European leaders, after the discrepancies that arose about what type of material should be subject to pooled acquisitions.

Borrell has been sympathetic to Kuleba’s complaints, which he has framed within the demands of “those who live with the anguish of war.” “We can theorize here, but they are suffering a barbaric aggression and it is normal to urgently and insistently ask for more and more help,” he explained.

In any case, the head of community diplomacy hopes that the legal adoption of joint purchases will materialize in the coming days and has defended that the EU “does not wait for consensus on the last comma” of the text to get to work and that is putting in place the necessary mechanisms to expedite these joint orders as soon as possible.

“I am sure that in the next few days they will reach a total agreement to make an additional demand to the industry for a value of one billion,” he stressed. Differences between Member States have been aired after France’s acrimonious position to ensure that the components and elements of military equipment that are produced jointly are European, a rigid vision that would reduce the purchase in national industries, whose value chains contain non-EU elements and foreign capital.