On Monday the European Union
\napproved a EUR 2 bln plan to procure and supply ammunition to Ukraine, sources
\nin Brussels announced. The 3-stage plan is designed to supply Ukrainian forces
\nwith at least one million 155-millimeter artillery shells in the coming 12
\nmonths, and to replenish member states’ stockpiles, some of which are depleting
\nquickly.<\/p>\n
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\n
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\n
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Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro
\nKuleba, who attended the meeting of his EU counterparts via conference call, has
\nwelcomed the support. More artillery ammunition for Ukraine as fast as
\npossible. This will bolster Ukraine’s capabilities on the battlefield, Kuleba said
\nin a Twitter post. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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The plan, which is to be signed off
\nby EU leaders at the summit on March 23-24, answers an urgent request made by
\nUkraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy early
\nthis month. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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EUR 1 bln will be used to reimburse
\nEU members that immediately supply Ukraine with ammunition from their own
\nexisting stockpiles, at EUR 1,000-1,300 per shell. The current price for such
\nammunition is EUR 4,000 and growing. Another EUR 1 bln will be used to place
\njoint ammunition orders for Ukraine. <\/p>\n
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\n
\n
\n
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The contracts are due in September,
\nand the goal is to shorten the deadline for purchase and delivery to 6-8 months.
\n<\/p>\n
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\n
\n
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A third stage of the plan concerns
\nincreasing production capacities with 12 EU weapons producers, to restock member
\nstates and to carry on supplying the Ukrainian forces. The EUR 2 bln will be
\nearmarked under the European Peace Facility, an inter-government fund created
\nby the member states outside of the EU budget and used since the start of the
\nwar to supply weapons to Ukraine. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Seventeen of the 27 member states,
\nplus Norway, will take part in the programme in a first stage, and Romania is
\none of them. It is a historic decision, said the EU diplomacy chief Josep
\nBorrell, who came up with the initiative. The framework, outlined by the European
\nDefence Agency, is flexible and allows us to replenish national military
\nstockpiles and to help Ukraine, he emphasised. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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\n
<\/p>\n
Also on Monday, the US announced
\nauthorising a further USD 350 million in military aid to Ukraine, which
\nincludes ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS and howitzers. Russia alone could
\nend its war today. Until Russia does, we will stand united with Ukraine for as
\nlong as it takes, the US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Monday. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Romania is a participant in a EU plan to replenish national ammunition stocks and supply Ukraine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":95121,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[39740,29120,29310,28905,36582,30709],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-95120","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-ammunition","tag-eu","tag-russia","tag-ukraine","tag-war","tag-weapons"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n