European Union countries agreed on Monday a two-billion-euro plan to send one million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year from its stockpiles and cooperate to buy more, officials said.
“We have reached a political consensus to send one million rounds of 155 mm ammunition to Ukraine,” Estonian Defense Minister Hannu Pevkur told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels of foreign and defense ministers in the European Union.
“There are many details still to be resolved, but for me, the most important thing is to conclude these negotiations and show me one thing: as long as there is a will, there is a way,” said Pefkor, whose country led the initiative.
The plan approved by the ministers was based on a proposal by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to spend 1 billion euros on missiles from stockpiles and spend another 1 billion euros on joint procurement.
Joint purchases are limited to companies from the European Union and Norway, which have close economic ties to the bloc.
Borrell praised the ministers’ approval of the plan, describing it as a “historic decision”.