The European Union will not be able to deliver the promised million shells to Ukraine by March 1, 2024, due to constant delays in production and concerns about the depletion of stockpiles of the blocʼs member states.
Bloomberg writes about this with reference to diplomatic sources.
By March 2024, the EU will be able to supply Ukraine with approximately 600,000 shells. Defense ministers meeting soon in Brussels may try to count other shipments to increase the total number of rounds sent, but will still fall short of the one million round target.
Previously, Politico wrote that the key reason for the delay of the projectiles was slow production. First, against the background of demand, the cost of production has increased significantly. It now costs €8,000 to produce the simplest 155 mm projectile — compared to €2,000 before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Secondly, there are now 14 modifications of these shells, and NATO countries should standardize their parameters. The process has already started, but it needs some time.
- In March 2023, EU member states promised to increase the supply of artillery shells to Ukraine, as the troops at the front faced a shortage of them. The countries agreed to a plan that included the supply of ammunition from their stockpiles and joint orders for the production of projectiles. The goal is to transfer one million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine within a year, i.e. by March 2024.
- At the end of November 2023, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, announced that the European Union had transferred almost 300,000 artillery ammunition to Ukraine out of the promised million.
- European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said that the European Union will be able to produce 1.3 million projectiles by the end of 2024, some of which will be transferred to Ukraine.