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EU approves another military support plan for Ukraine

EU approves another military support plan for Ukraine

EU leaders are set to approve a deal to send Ukraine 1 million artillery shells over the next 12 months to help the country defend itself against Russian forces.

The fast-track procedure was approved during a meeting of foreign and defense ministers earlier this week, and leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels on Thursday will give it their political blessing, according to several senior EU diplomats. .

With Ukraine facing a shortage of ammunition to fight Russia, the idea of ​​creating a joint purchasing action plan, similar to the one created during the coronavirus pandemic to buy vaccines, was first brought to the table last month by the prime minister of Estonia, Kaja Kallas.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he has won approval for his proposal to offer 1 billion euros to encourage member states to provide artillery shells from their stockpiles.

Of the 27 EU countries, Hungary is the only one to have announced it will not participate in supplying ammunition to Ukraine, citing its commitment to peace, but said it would not prevent other members from doing so. such a thing.

Last month, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the bloc was partly to blame for prolonging Russia's war in Ukraine by imposing sanctions on Russia and by supplying Ukraine with money and weapons instead of seeking to negotiate peace. with Moscow.

According to various estimates, Ukraine is firing 6,000-7,000 artillery shells every day, about a third of Russia's total, a year after the war. Leaders will also discuss the possibility of supplementing the European Peace Facility - a fund used to reimburse member states that provide arms, ammunition and military support to Ukraine - with an additional 3.5 billion euros.

In their two-day meeting, the leaders will be joined by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will address the meeting via video link./REL

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