Kallas Reaffirms Plan to Give Ukraine 2M Artillery Rounds Before Year-End

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas confirmed the intention to continue engaging closely with member states to ensure the supply of at least 2 million artillery shells to Ukraine before the end of this year.

Kallas stated this in Brussels during a press conference following the Ukraine-EU Association Council on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“Ukraine is fighting a war that only Russia wants to continue. The urgency of international support to Ukraine is also very clear. As [the] President of Ukraine recently reiterated, Ukraine urgently needs large calibre ammunition: 2 million rounds will be our contribution in this regard. We know that it is available on the market, we just need to get our act together,” Kaja Kallas noted.

She expressed belief that the EU and its member states are capable of delivering this amount of ammunition. Already this year, since member states started to join this work, Ukraine is in the process of receiving more than 1 million rounds, either in the form of orders or contributions.

“I will definitely continue to work to reach this 2 million rounds this year,” the EU High Representative emphasized.

She noted that since Ukraine agreed to an unconditional ceasefire, Russia has only intensified its attacks. Last weekend, the deadliest Russian attack against Ukrainian children since the full-scale invasion was documented. The top diplomat expressed her condolences in connection with this tragedy.

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As reported earlier, the 10th meeting of the EU-Ukraine Association Council was held in Brussels on April 9, chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. The Ukrainian delegation was led by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

During the meeting, the parties signed five intergovernmental agreements aimed at strengthening economic cooperation between Ukraine and the EU and accelerating the recovery processes in Ukraine.