Ukraine FM Slams EU for Not Delivering on Ammunition Plan

The EU is working out a plan to provide Kyiv with one million artillery shells

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed the EU on Thursday for taking too much time to work out its plan to deliver one million artillery shells to Ukraine for its war against Russia.

“The inability of the EU to implement its own decision on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine is frustrating,” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

The EU has been trying to work out a plan to jointly purchase the artillery rounds. According to POLITICO, the main impasse between EU members is whether to restrict the €1 billion set aside for the shells to EU manufacturers or look to also procure ammunition from the US and Britain.

Coordinating EU military aid and sanctions usually takes time, but Kuleba made clear Kyiv was running out of patience. “This is a test of whether the EU has strategic autonomy in making new crucial security decisions,” he said, referring to French President Emmanuel Macron’s call for European independence from US policies.

“For Ukraine, the cost of inaction is measured in human lives,” Kuleba added. Throughout the war, Kuleba and other Ukrainian officials have been willing to strongly criticize their Western backers even though their war effort is entirely reliant on such support.

Earlier this year, Kuleba said that “no one has done enough” to support Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky brought the same message to the US when he visited Washington in December and addressed Congress, saying Kyiv didn’t have “enough” artillery.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.