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BRUSSELS — The EU has sent Ukraine 650,000 shells out of the 1 million it pledged, Josep Borrell, the bloc’s foreign affairs chief, said Friday.
“Now we are at 65 percent of our original goal,” he told reporters following a meeting of EU defense ministers, adding that there “has been an acceleration during the summer, the industry is working at full pace.”
The bloc’s original target was 1 million shells, but that was raised to 1.1 million in January.
The ammunition total incudes shipments from EU countries that have been submitted to the European Peace Facility, as well as reimbursements for rounds bought on world markets under a Czech initiative, an EU official said.
The ammunition is part of a much larger flow of military aid to Ukraine, which Borrell said now “exceeds €43 billion.”
The bloc has also trained 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers, and Borrell said another 15,000 will be trained by the end of the year.
“The training has to be shortened and adapted to the Ukrainian needs,” he said.
He proposed setting up “a small liaison cell and coordination in Kyiv” that would allow the EU to better coordinate troop training with NATO.
Although Kyiv has suggested shifting some troop training to Ukraine, Borrell said that instead it will happen “as close as possible to Ukraine, but not in Ukrainian territory.”
Borrell also called on EU countries to send more forces to the Aspides mission, the EU naval mission to deter Houthi rebels attacking merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
