BRUSSELS, March 20 (Reuters) – European Union member states have reached an agreement on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on the sidelines of a meeting with his EU counterparts in Brussels on Monday.
“Today, we will sign the respective documents,” he told reporters, adding Germany would also open its national framework contracts with the defence industry to other partners as speed was of the essence in supplying Kyiv.
“Our goal has to be to ship a significant amount of munitions to Ukraine before the end of this year,” Pistorius underscored.
European Union ministers on Monday will look to sign off on a €2 billion plan to raid their stockpiles and jointly purchase desperately needed artillery shells for Ukraine.
Kyiv has complained that its forces are having to ration their firepower as Russia’s year-long invasion has turned into a grinding war of attrition.
Ukraine has told the EU it wants 350,000 shells a month to help its troops hold back Moscow’s onslaught and allow them to launch fresh counter-offensives later in the year.
