EU looks to send €1B for shells to Ukraine
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European countries plan to send €1B worth of military aid to Ukraine, and the European Peace Facility plans to increase its funding by €2 billion in 2023.
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Ukrainian artillerymen prepare to fire an L119 howitzer toward Russian positions at a frontline in the Lugansk region, amid the Russian operation in Ukraine. (AFP)
The European Union proposes that €1 billion worth of aid should be dedicated to ammunition for Ukraine, particuluarly 155mm artillery shells, according to Politico, citing documents.
The documents show that the EU has been supplying Ukraine with arms through an off-budget, inter-government cash pot called the European Peace Facility, which aims to "repay" countries that sent arms to Ukraine. It has so far paid Ukraine €3.6 billion in military aid to Ukraine, with member states deciding to increase its funding by €2 billion in 2023.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell intends to propose an “extraordinary support package” of €1 billion focused on the delivery of ammunition, according to the EU document, drafted by the bloc’s diplomatic service, the European Commission and the European Defence Agency.
The documents suggest that €1 billion should be focused on ammunition, notably 15mm, as soon as the €2 billion top-up of the European Peace Facility is “operationalized.” According to an EU official, this means that half of the year's top-up should be for ammunition, mainly shells.
Europe wants to ensure its funds are specifically channeled to the artillery rounds to ensure that Ukraine can face Russia.
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The document also anticipated the increase in European industrial production, which is straining to produce ammunition at the rate demanded by the war.
The proposal cites “a favorable reimbursement rate, for instance up to 90% … given the extreme urgency and the depletion of Member States’ stocks.”
The funding proposal also allows “voluntary financial contributions” for countries not to feel obliged to send aid such as Austria, which is neutral; or that are reluctant to provide weapons, such as Hungary, which sent aid to Ukraine as part of an "EU loan." However, Hungary stuck to its stance and still has not joined in on the Western-induced sanction campaign against Russia.
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On Wednesday, Tamas Menczer, Hungary's secretary of state told Kossuth Radio that the EU is insisting that Ukraine must win, and that for them, peace talks are a red line.
"Even knowing that Brussels represents the position of the 'party of war', we were still shocked... when we, the Hungarians, suggested that the documents on the occasion of the anniversary of the start... [of Russia's special military operation] contain calls for an immediate ceasefire and the start of talks, they were rejected in each case," Menczer told Kossuth Radio.
The official explained that Brussels has often made it clear, behind closed doors and in public, that the "immediate cessation of the war" not only "is a red line," but that the bloc believed that the war in eastern Europe "must be continued until Ukraine wins."
Hungary has maintained its position of neutrality throughout the war in Ukraine and has continued to voice its concerns. Menсzer said Budapest supported the return to peace talks and insisted that there can be no winner in this war.
