Europe seeks to increase ammunition production for Ukraine

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union must find ways to quickly deliver thousands of artillery shells to Ukraine or risk losing the war with Russia, senior EU diplomats warned Monday as ammunition supplies are dwindling in EU national arsenals.

“The most important problem today for the Ukrainian army is to have a continuous flow of ammunition,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said before chairing a meeting of foreign ministers foreigners of the block. “If we don’t, really, the outcome of the war is in jeopardy.”

Borrell spoke as US President Joe Biden made a surprise visit to Ukraine.

Borrell noted that Russian forces are firing about 50,000 artillery shells a day, and supplies from Ukraine need to be brought up to the same level. Other estimates suggest that Ukraine fires between 6,000 and 7,000 artillery shells a day, about a third of Russia’s total after a year of war.

Most needed, Borrell pointed out, are 155mm artillery rounds.

Borrell said the discussion will focus on ways to jointly purchase ammunition and use a special EU fund to provide additional funding. However, the defense industry needs strong, long-term orders to meet and expand production lines and cannot simply increase supplies overnight.

Last week, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the lead time for “large caliber ammunition has been reduced from 12 to 28 months” and that “orders placed today cannot be delivered than in two and a half years”.

Estonia, which shares a border and a long history with Russia, is pushing the EU and its NATO allies to provide one million artillery shells, at an estimated cost of 4 billion euros (4 .3 billion dollars).