The countries of the European Union placed an order for only 60,000 artillery shells under the EUʼs joint procurement scheme, which was part of the plan to supply Ukraine with a million rounds of ammunition. Another 300,000 were taken from the reserves of the EU armies.
This was reported to Reuters by sources familiar with the figures.
On March 20, EU member states agreed to purchase one million 155 mm ammunition for Ukraine over the next 12 months. On May 5 , the Council of the EU approved the allocation of one billion euros in aid for the purchase of 155-mm ammunition and, if necessary, missiles for Ukraine.
They planned to supply ammunition from the stocks of the EU armies, as well as invest in their own production and order shells from arms companies under the joint procurement scheme.
Together, these schemes yielded about 480,000 munitions — less than half of what was planned, with about four months left.
Some argue that the governments of several countries simply did not back up their rhetoric about long-term support for Ukraine and did not place orders with arms manufacturers.
Others insist that the industry needs time to ramp up and resume production of such artillery shells, which until recently were not considered a priority for modern warfare.
On September 6, the European Defense Agency (EDA) signed the first eight contracts with manufacturers for the joint purchase of 155-mm ammunition. They concern ammunition for the most common self-propelled howitzers, which the EU member states transferred to Ukraine: the French Caesar, the Polish Krab, the German Panzerhaubitze 2000 and the Slovak Zuzana. EDA did not specify the size of the orders. But the interlocutors told Reuters on condition of anonymity that the total number is only 60,000 shells.
- On November 14, the Minister of Defense of Germany Boris Pistorius said that the European Union will not be able to supply Ukraine with a million ammunitions until March 2024.
- On November 29, the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that the EU will fulfill its promise to supply Ukraine with a million ammunition, but it will take a little more time than it would like. It will take a few extra months.
- On the same day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, said that the European Union had supplied Ukraine with 300,000 of the planned million ammunition.