EU leaders stress ‘urgent need’ to speed up Ukraine ammunition supply

EU leaders stressed an “urgent need” to accelerate the delivery of ammunition and missiles to Ukraine on Thursday (1 February), after it became clear this week that the bloc would miss its self-set target.

EU leaders who met for a special summit in Brussels pledged their “unwavering commitment to continue to provide strong political, financial, economic, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support to Ukraine and its people for as long as it takes,” they said in their joint declaration after the talks.

The call came a day after the EU acknowledged the bloc will fall short of the promised one million artillery rounds it had pledged to deliver to Ukraine by March.

However, their statement stopped short of endorsing a call by some EU countries and the EU’s diplomatic service (EEAS) to endorse a reform of the European Peace Facility (EPF).

Under the latest proposal, reported by Euractiv, this would inject €5 billion for Ukraine’s military aid into the bloc’s military assistance fund.

Germany has been calling for a major reform of the system so that it takes into account EU members’ bilateral military aid to Ukraine.

The leaders’ statement called on EU governments to reach a deal on setting up a dedicated ‘Ukraine Assistance Fund’ to help Kyiv with military aid by “early March 2024”.

Earlier on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged EU leaders to establish the new fund sooner rather than later, calling such a move “a priority”.

Zelenskyy said “such reliability and long-term support” could help Ukraine fight off Russia’s invasion of the country.

He added he hopes this will make US President Joe Biden’s efforts in this direction easier.

Earlier on Thursday, EU leaders, including Hungary, unanimously agreed to extend €50 billion in financial aid to Ukraine, ending weeks of uncertainty after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had threatened to veto the package.

“This €50 billion for four years also sent a very strong message to [Russia’s President Vladimir] Putin just ahead of the second anniversary of his brutal invasion,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters after the summit.

Speaking to reporters after the talks, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hailed the step as a good message to the US, where Republicans have so far been blocking Ukraine aid in the US Congress.

“This is also a good signal towards the US. The American president is a good friend and ally who is working hard to win support for his demands from the Congress,” Scholz said.

[Edited by Zoran Radosavljevic]

Read more with Euractiv

EU agrees unanimously on €50 billion financial aid for Ukraine

All EU leaders, including Hungary, agreed on a deal to provide predictable long-term financing to Ukraine at the start of their summit on Thursday (1 February), ending weeks of uncertainty after Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had threatened to veto the package.