Brussels, Belgium:
European Union member states agreed on Wednesday to add 5 billion euros ($5.5 billion) to a central fund to pay for arms shipments to Ukraine.
The move gives Kyiv a welcome boost as support from its other main backer, the United States, falters and Kiev’s armed forces struggle to contain Russia.
Belgium, which holds the rotating EU presidency, said that ambassadors from the 27 EU countries have agreed “in principle” to a plan to provide 5 billion euros in arms supplies to Kyiv in 2024.
After Moscow’s invasion in 2022, the EU agreed for the first time to fund arms shipments to countries at war.
It has since pledged 6.1 billion euros from the Central European Peace Fund, mainly to reimburse member states for part of the cost of delivering weapons to Ukraine.
Plans for an extra 5 billion euros to support EU funds have been delayed by months due to a dispute between Germany and France.
Berlin insists its bilateral support for Ukraine should offset its contribution, while Paris demands repayment only for weapons produced in Europe.
Diplomats said Germany, the fund’s biggest donor, had reached a compromise with Brussels to offset a percentage of Germany’s bilateral support for the fund.
They said France was also satisfied with countries’ commitment to prioritize procurement from European defense companies but could look outside the EU if certain munitions or systems were not readily available.
Brussels said member states and EU coffers have spent about 28 billion euros to support Ukrainian forces since the Kremlin launched an all-out war.
The announcement of the latest funding to Ukraine comes as Kiev’s army faces ammunition shortages on the front lines.
The United States on Tuesday announced a new $300 million weapons program for Ukraine, but congressional Republicans are still holding up another $60 billion in funding.
There are growing warnings in Europe that Kyiv may ultimately fail if it cannot continue to support it, and an emboldened Kremlin could attack other countries.
The EU is working to bolster its defense industry’s arms and ammunition production, but two years into the war it is still struggling to ramp up production.
The group will fall far short of a pledge made a year ago to supply Ukraine with 1 million rounds of artillery shells by this month.
Meanwhile, the Czech Republic has spearheaded an 18-nation coalition to buy artillery shells from outside Europe, with Prague this month promising to start sending the first 300,000 shells to Kiev within weeks.
At the same time, Russia has accelerated weapons production by putting its economy on a war footing and has received large quantities of weapons from Iran and North Korea.
EU leaders will discuss efforts to boost European industry and support Ukraine at a summit in Brussels next week.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
