The European Union will send half a million ammunition to Ukraine by the end of March

The European Union (EU) will be able to supply Ukraine with 500,000 artillery shells by the end of March, half of what was promised a year ago, the President of the European Commission announced on Tuesday.

“The European defense industry has increased production capacity by 40%. By the end of next month we will have delivered more than half a million artillery ammunition. And more than a million by the end of the year,” Ursula von der Leyen said during a debate on Russia’s two-year invasion of Ukraine in the European Parliament in Strasbourg (France).

In March 2023, the EU promised that it would supply one million large-caliber ammunition, namely 155 millimeters, by March this year, but by November last year it had managed to secure just over 300,000 rounds through joint acquisitions and increased production. In early January, a number of government officials acknowledged the impossibility of fulfilling the promise by March, including Portuguese Foreign Minister João Gomes Cravinho.

The invasion of Ukraine began almost two years ago with the annexation of large parts of Ukrainian territory.

The Ukrainian military initially managed to repel Moscow’s forces, but last year the conflict escalated into a war of attrition, with apparent wear and tear on the part of the international community, especially the United States, which was exacerbated by the outbreak of conflict in the Middle East.

Ammunition storage capacity in EU countries has also been reduced due to the need to give Ukraine the ability to continuously fight, while Moscow is looking for other ways to purchase military equipment, namely from Iran and North Korea.

During the debate, Socialist Party MEP Pedro Marques of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) said that after “two years of suffering” Ukraine needs more from the EU: “Determination is not everything, Ukraine needs ammunition and financial support to win war.” “.

Lithuanian MEP Rasa Juknevičienė from the European People’s Party (EPP) insisted that the European Union must also do more for Ukraine, against “Putin’s blackmail”, but for this, as the Christian Democrat propagated, “a plan for victory for Ukraine.”

Viola von Cramon-Taubadel, a German member of the EP Greens group, criticized the White House and US Congress for the rift that saw them stop supporting Ukraine, which was once considered contiguous, as well as her own country and Hungary.

“Every time Washington falters, Russia escalates its attack. Every time Berlin hesitates, Putin shoots at Ukraine, every time Orban imposes a blockade, Russia rapes children, women and men. Russia exploits our weaknesses. Putin cannot see the weakness in our statements. “, said the member of the European Parliament.

On behalf of the Group of European Conservatives and Reformists, Poland’s Anna Fotyga insisted on the “economic and military weight” the European Union could give to Ukraine, against the “bloody struggle” waged by Moscow and against “blackmail” within the EU, referring to Budapest.

Germany’s Ozlem Demirel, who represents the left in the European Parliament, said she was tired of “every debate being the same” two years after Moscow launched its invasion.

“What we want is a battlefield and a supply of weapons. There are facts in the war, and there is a Ukrainian offensive that failed. It is obvious that the Putin regime has the blood of Ukrainian children on its hands, but let’s be honest,” von der Leyen, [Boris] Johnson [antigo primeiro-ministro britânico] This [Joe] Biden [Presidente norte-americano] They also don’t have very clean hands. Negotiations for a ceasefire were held […], and the EU said: “No, fight for our freedoms.” This is cynicism, and they tell people that this is solidarity?” he criticized.