Ukraine received 300,000 out of planned million shells from EU – Foreign Minister Kuleba

The European Union has so far supplied Ukraine with about 300,000 of the promised million shells, confirmed the Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba, Reuters reports.

Kuleba, speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels, said that the EU had given Ukraine only 300,000 of the promised million rounds and called for closer cooperation between the defense industries of Ukraine and NATO countries to ensure the supply of weapons and ammunition.

The minister believes that it is necessary to create a "common Euro-Atlantic defense industry space" that will work for the security of both Ukraine and NATO in general.

Kuleba also said that he had a "productive" meeting with the head of the Slovak Foreign Ministry Juraj Blanár.

"He confirmed that a maintenance center for Ukrainian heavy equipment will continue to operate in Slovakia," Ukraine's top diplomat said.

Earlier, at a briefing at the NATO headquarters, Kuleba stated that Ukraine is not going to give up in the fight against Russian aggression and that the main goal remains the restoration of its territorial integrity.

In March 2023, the European Union adopted a plan to supply Ukraine with ammunition, which provides for the purchase of 1 million shells during 12 months.

On October 26, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania, Gabrielius Landsbergis, said that the European Union had supplied Ukraine with only 300,000 shells out of the promised million.

On November 17, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said that the European Union should start purchasing ammunition for Ukraine from third countries, as it will not be able to deliver the promised million shells by the spring of 2024.