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BRUSSELS — EU defense ministers will gather in Brussels on Tuesday, but some of the bloc’s pledges to support Ukraine with arms and cash are running into trouble.
Diplomats are increasingly worried the bloc’s aim of delivering 1 million rounds of ammunition to Kyiv within a year to help in its war against Russia are floundering, while fresh cash commitments are also stuck in a tense political debate.
One senior EU official said Friday that 300,000 rounds had been shipped since February 9 under a program to send shells from national stockpiles to Ukraine. That’s nowhere near on track for the million rounds promised earlier this year.
“It will be very difficult to reach the target by mid-March,” one national diplomat said on condition of being granted anonymity.
Industry executives point to staff shortages and problems sourcing adequate supplies of explosives as some of the bottlenecks facing contractors as they seek to ramp up production.
“The target is not dead,” the EU official insisted, adding the numbers are “intermediate” since thousands more rounds will be dispatched under another joint procurement program.
“It’s overall a problem with industrial capacity,” the official added.
Separately, the attempt to carve out a new EU Ukraine assistance package worth €20 billion over four years from the European Peace Facility are locked in debate.
While the EU is clear it stands behind Ukraine, member countries are split on how to provide further financing and whether to reimburse countries for their arms deliveries in a lump sum or on an annual piecemeal basis.
“We have not spoken recently about this figure,” said the diplomat of the €20 billion, adding that a decision first had to be taken on how the fund would work, before allocating funding. “This will not be closed next Tuesday.”
Gregorio Sorgi, Stuart Lau, Camille Gijs and Jacopo Barigazzi contributed reporting.
