The European Union’s head of industry said the bloc should move to a “wartime” While senior Ukrainian officials hope for a massive influx of shells from foreign sponsors, it is an economic model they hope to meet the needs of the battlefield in Kiev.
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton discussed plans to increase arms and ammunition shipments to Ukraine in an interview with the Financial Times and said he was working with EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell to increase industrial capacity in Europe, reduce barriers and pressures. Increasing bank loans to facilitate military transfers to Kyiv.
“I think it’s time for the European defense industry to switch to a war economy model to meet our defense production needs,” she told the outlet on Friday that she and Borrell “We are fully committed to the rise of the European defense industry to face the realities of high-intensity conflict, starting with the issue of munitions.”
While unnamed diplomats expressed their doubts to the FT, one asked “How are we going to pay for this?” » – Efforts to accelerate deliveries to Kiev and replenish Europe’s domestic stockpile began after Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov requested 250,000 artillery shells per month, far exceeding the European plan.
Reznikov said this in a letter to European defense leaders on Friday “crucial role” Ukrainian troops claimed to be firing 110,000 155 mm shells every few weeks, playing artillery on the battlefield.
Ukrainian troops “limited by the number of artillery shells available” and requires at least 356,400 cycles per month “successful execution” their tasks – or 594,000 shells per month to use the artillery force at full capacity, Reznikov said.
According to the Times newspaper, Borrell a “less ambitious” hopes to distribute 1 billion euros instead of the program “next months” to partly cover the cost of shells supplied by the Allies.
The cost of European-made 155 mm shells could rise to 3,300 euros per shot amid growing shortages on land, suggests a recently signed arms deal among EU members. Based on this estimate, the munitions sought by Kiev could amount to 825,000,000 euros per block within a month, although officials have not yet confirmed the exact figures.
It’s unclear how many shells Ukraine has received from European backers’ arsenals, but only the United States has sent them over the past year. “More than 1,000,000 155 mm artillery shells”, According to the latest information from the Pentagon.
All news on the site does not represent the views of the site, but we automatically submit this news and translate it through software technology on the site rather than a human editor.
