EU to help Ukraine with new munition procurement
Published: 04:02 PM,Feb 19,2023 | EDITED : 08:02 PM,Feb 19,2023
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MUNICH: In view of Ukraine’s great need for ammunition, the EU is working on a new procurement procedure, EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner Josep Borrell confirmed at the Munich Security Conference on Sunday.
According to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the aim is to use a procedure similar to the one used to ensure the swift procurement ofvaccines during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Kallas, EU states should make money available, which would then be used to award large contracts to the defence industry via the EU. The procedure could ensure that the industry can make the necessary investments to expand production.
“Russia is firing in a day the monthly European production of artillery shells,” Kallas added, pointing out that the Russian defence industry was currently working in three shifts. In the EU,production capacities had to be expanded quickly. Without ammunition,Ukraine could not win the war.
“We are in war mode, urgent war mode,” Borrell said. It is now a matter of reacting quickly, he said.
According to Kallas, the so-called European Peace Facility could also play a role. It is a financial instrument through which the EU already supports arms and equipment deliveries to Ukraine and training programmes for the armed forces. So far, ?3.6 billion have been released to support the Ukrainian armed forces.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have urged US Congress members to press President Joe Biden’s administration to send F-16 jet fighters to Kyiv, saying the aircraft would boost Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian missile units with US-made rockets, lawmakers said.
The lobbying came over the weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in talks between Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Democrats and Republicans from the Senate and House of Representatives.
“They told us that they want (F-16s) to suppress enemy air defences so they could get their drones” beyond Russian front lines, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who flew US Navy fighters in combat, said on Saturday evening.
Biden last month said “no” when asked if he would approve Ukraine’s request for Lockheed-Martin-made F-16s.
Four delegations from the Senate and House combined in what members called the largest number of US lawmakers to attend Europe’s premier security gathering since it started in 1963, demonstrating clear bipartisan support for Ukraine. — dpa
According to Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, the aim is to use a procedure similar to the one used to ensure the swift procurement ofvaccines during the coronavirus pandemic.
According to Kallas, EU states should make money available, which would then be used to award large contracts to the defence industry via the EU. The procedure could ensure that the industry can make the necessary investments to expand production.
“Russia is firing in a day the monthly European production of artillery shells,” Kallas added, pointing out that the Russian defence industry was currently working in three shifts. In the EU,production capacities had to be expanded quickly. Without ammunition,Ukraine could not win the war.
“We are in war mode, urgent war mode,” Borrell said. It is now a matter of reacting quickly, he said.
According to Kallas, the so-called European Peace Facility could also play a role. It is a financial instrument through which the EU already supports arms and equipment deliveries to Ukraine and training programmes for the armed forces. So far, ?3.6 billion have been released to support the Ukrainian armed forces.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials have urged US Congress members to press President Joe Biden’s administration to send F-16 jet fighters to Kyiv, saying the aircraft would boost Ukraine’s ability to hit Russian missile units with US-made rockets, lawmakers said.
The lobbying came over the weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in talks between Ukrainian officials, including Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, and Democrats and Republicans from the Senate and House of Representatives.
“They told us that they want (F-16s) to suppress enemy air defences so they could get their drones” beyond Russian front lines, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who flew US Navy fighters in combat, said on Saturday evening.
Biden last month said “no” when asked if he would approve Ukraine’s request for Lockheed-Martin-made F-16s.
Four delegations from the Senate and House combined in what members called the largest number of US lawmakers to attend Europe’s premier security gathering since it started in 1963, demonstrating clear bipartisan support for Ukraine. — dpa