The EU has delivered 31 billion euros worth of military equipment to Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said in a blog post published on March 25, UNN reports.
While it was not originally created for this purpose, the European Peace Facility (EPF) has been the backbone of our military support to Ukraine. So far, we have used € 6.1 billion from the EPF to incentivise the support to Ukraine by EU Member States and, with them, the EU has delivered in total € 31 billion in military equipment to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. And this figure is increasing every day
As the EU's chief diplomat pointed out, thanks to these funds, "we have continued our military support for Ukraine."
"Among other actions, by this summer, we will have trained 60.000 Ukrainian soldiers; we have donated 500.000 artillery shells to Ukraine and by the end of the year it will be more than 1 million," Borrell continued.
In addition, according to him, "the European defence industry is also providing to Ukraine 400.000 shells through commercial contracts." "The Czech initiative to buy ammunition outside the EU comes in addition to these efforts. However, it is far from being enough and we have to increase both our capacity of production and the financial resources devoted to support Ukraine," Borrell emphasized.
He also reminded that last Monday the EU Foreign Affairs Council decided to create a new Assistance Fund for Ukraine within the EPF, "endowed with € 5 billion, to continue supporting Ukraine militarily." "I have also proposed last Wednesday to the Council to redirect 90% of the extraordinary revenues from the Russian immobilised assets into the EPF, to increase the financial capacity of the military support for Ukraine," he said.
As the head of EU diplomacy noted, today the financial ceiling of the EPF, which started at €5 billion, is €17 billion.
And, according to him, the European Peace Foundation helps not only Ukraine. "So far, we have used it to support 22 partners and organizations," he said.
Borrell noted that more needs to be done to increase capacity and production.
"At home, we need also to invest much more and help our defence industry to increase its production capacities. There is no other solution if we look at the magnitude of the defence needs for Ukraine but also for our Member States that need to replenish their stocks and acquire new equipment," he said.
The EU diplomat also noted that the EU "needs to incentivise much more joint procurement, better secure our security of supplies, anchor the Ukrainian defence industry in Europe and organise a massive industrial ramp-up." "We also need to catch up on new military technologies like drones or Artificial Intelligence. With its innovation hub, the European Defence Agency will continue to play a key role in these efforts," he said.