EU countries will deliver half of the promised one million shells to Ukraine by the end of March

19 March, 2024 155mm artillery shells. Photo credits: U.S. Army

By the end of March 2024, the EU countries will supply Ukraine with half of the promised one million artillery shells. Peter Stano, EU Lead Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated this, according to European Pravda. He noted that this year, the amount of ammunition transferred to Ukraine should reach one million.

By the end of this month, the number of artillery shells delivered to Kyiv will reach approximately 500,000. "By the end of March, it will be about half a million," Stano said in response to a journalist's question about the current stage of fulfillment of the EU's commitment.

155mm artillery rounds. Photo credits: Brian E.

Christiansen/Flickr

"Yes, we have not delivered a million shells by the end of this month. But Ukraine will receive more than a million if we focus on the existing capacities and orders placed," Peter Stano added. He noted that this amount comes in addition to bilateral cooperation between Ukraine and the member states.

Shells for Ukraine from the EU

Back in November 2023, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reported that the EU would not be able to fulfill its plan to supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine by March 2024.

Previously, Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy / Vice-President of the European Commission, stated that the EU had not abandoned its goal of supplying Ukraine with 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition by March 2024. However, he noted that the promise may not be fulfilled in time. Everything would depend on the speed of ammunition production at the factories.

He also said that European defense companies still export 40% of their shells to other countries, not Ukraine.

155mm artillery shells.

Photo from open sources

Later, the EU's defense industry denied any fault in the failure of the plan to supply Ukraine with shells.

In January of this year, it was announced that by the end of 2024, the European Union will reach the capacity to be able to produce more than 1.3 million artillery shells per year.