According to Häkkänen, Ukraine’s European allies have not realized “the seriousness of the war through the prism of history” and have not provided sufficient support to the Ukrainians.
Read also: Zelenskyy discusses defense assistance with Czech counterpart at Munich Security Conference
According to the media, the EU aims to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells this year. Earlier, the Czech Republic reported that it had found 800,000 artillery rounds outside the bloc. The country has asked other EU and NATO members to help finance the purchase.
The cost of the ammunition is about 1.3 billion euros ($1.41 billion). No decision on financing has been made yet.
“The money to support arms for Ukraine must be found immediately,” Häkkinen said.
Read also: Germany engages in covert diplomacy to source artillery shells for Ukraine from India – Spiegel
The Finnish Defense Minister also stated the importance of increasing the EU’s own arms production and noted that “some success” has already been achieved.
“European countries have been able to increase their own production, and they are close to achieving the goal,” he added.
Read also: Zelenskyy to visit Germany’s Scholz, France’s Macron ahead of address to Munich Security Conference
According to estimates, by the end of this year, about 1.3 million grandes will be produced in the EU, and further production growth is expected in 2025.
On March 1, it was reported that Ukraine would receive the first batch of shells in the coming weeks as part of the Czech initiative to purchase arms from third countries.
On Feb. 28, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said that Belgium would allocate 200 million euros ($217 million) to purchase ammunition for Ukraine outside the EU.
Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala spoke of “great support” for the initiative to purchase arms outside the EU.
In an interview with NV, Michael Roth, chairman of the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee, said that three countries are blocking the purchase of ammunition for Ukraine outside the European Union: France, Greece and Cyprus.
On Feb. 17, Czech President Petr Pavel said that the country had found hundreds of thousands of artillery rounds abroad that it could transfer to Ukraine if it had the funding.
On Feb. 23, the President’s Office said it will find money for 800,000 shells, as mentioned by the Czech president.
On Jan. 31, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell admitted that by March the EU would fulfill only 52% of its promise to provide Ukraine with one million artillery shells, and the European Commission said that the bloc would be able to produce one million only by the end of winter 2024.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Section: Nation
Author: Альона Сонько
