EU supplies 226,000 shells to Ukraine in six months

The Estonian Defence Minister said that the EU had supplied 226,000 pieces of ammunition to Ukraine in six months. At the same time, the EU's goal remains to deliver one million rounds of ammunition. 

This was reported by Ukrinform.

Estonian Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur calls for accelerating the pace of supply, in particular by increasing production, restoring old ammunition and purchasing from third countries.

Pevkur says that the goal of one million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine is minimal. According to him, Ukrainians use 6,000-7,000 shells a day, while the Russian army uses ten times more.

Therefore, the pace of ammunition supply needs to be reconsidered. For example, to start restoring shells.

"There are many countries that have such shells in their arsenals, and they can be refurbished at a lower price than the price at which we could buy new ones... We see that the industry is increasing production, but this is still not enough, even if we can reach the target (of 1 million shells - ed.) by the end of the year or early next year," Pevkur said.

The minister noted that the ability of the European industry to produce 1 million rounds of ammunition annually is still not sufficient. Many countries will make purchases for their own needs, while some companies will sell ammunition to third countries. Therefore, all options should be considered to increase the supply of ammunition to Ukraine, including increasing its production, restoring old ammunition and purchasing it from third countries, if necessary.

It will be recalled that in July, EU spokesperson Peter Stano said that the EU had handed over 223,800 artillery shells and 2,300 missiles of various types to Ukraine.