Pistorius responds to Kuleba's criticism of Western ammo supplies to Ukraine

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has dismissed Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's assertion that North Korea is more effective at supplying artillery ammunition to Russia than the West is at supplying it to Ukraine. Source: Ukrainska Pravda, citing the German defence minister, who made the comment in an interview with Bild "These are Kuleba's statements as we know them.

He is prone to polarisation and exaggeration. That is his right, given the situation his country is in. But I see North Korean supplies in a slightly different light.

The quantity might be there, but the quality is on a very different level," Pistorius said.

He disagreed that Western partners are doing less than they could, stressing that "it's not about willpower". "No, it is not. We are doing what we have to do.

We are going to the limit of what we can justify for security reasons," the minister said. Pistorius also said the criticism of Germany's arms supplies was unfair, especially compared with other European countries that have promised a lot, but delivered less to Ukraine. "I can tell you that Germany sends cargo across the border almost every day with something, with weapons, with ammunition, even small batches when they arrive, just to be able to help quickly," he said.

He noted that Berlin is currently facing difficulties because production cannot keep up at the rate it needs to. Earlier, NATO signed contracts for the purchase of about 220,000 155-mm artillery shells worth US£1.2 billion. The Alliance is pushing member states to overcome protectionist tendencies and agree on a single standard for artillery ammunition to increase its production.

Latvian Foreign Minister Krisjanis Karins has called for ammunition for Ukraine to be purchased from non-EU countries in order to deliver the promised one million shells.

According to Reuters, in early December, EU member states had supplied only 480,000 of the one million artillery shells they had promised to send to Ukraine by spring 2024.

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