The European Union on Tuesday urged its 27 member nations to provide more ammunition from their stockpiles to Ukraine, as well as any orders they might have already placed to help defeat Russia.
According to some estimates, Ukraine is firing between 6,000 and 7,000 artillery shells per day—about the same amount that one small European country orders in a given year. Yet this is only about one-third the number of rounds that Russia has been firing.
“We have to act with a sense of urgency,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels, urging all 27 EU defense ministers to “give Ukraine priority” regarding weapons and ammo.
“What we have to do is measured in weeks, not in months,” he stated.
Data from the Ukraine Support Tracker from January 3 shows that, as a single country, the U.S. has provided by far the most aid to Ukraine—$50.9 billion in military aid. Yesterday in Kyiv, Biden also pledged a half-billion dollars in additional aid to Ukraine.
The U.S. is followed by EU institutions ($37.2 billion), according to the Ukraine Support Tracker, then the UK ($7.5 billion), Germany ($5.8 billion) and Canada ($5.1 billion).
While the EU has been focused on ways to make joint purchases of ammo and use a joint fund to provide extra financing, NATO is planning to set up its own procurement scheme to help Ukraine get the supplies it needs.
“We have agreed that NATO should assist Ukraine to develop a procurement system that is effective, transparent and accountable,” NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg during a news conference alongside Borrell and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. He added that a panel of experts would soon discuss how best to proceed.
“Key capabilities must reach Ukraine before Russia can seize the momentum,” Stoltenberg insisted.
The EU and NATO discussions came on the same day President Biden was visiting EU and NATO member Poland, which has not only given nearly $2 billion in military aid to Ukraine, it is currently home to more than 1.5 million Ukrainian refugees.
