From the New York Times today:
European Union foreign and defense ministers agreed on Monday to spend up to 2 billion euros, or $2.14 billion, to supply Ukraine with badly needed artillery shells, replenish their own national stocks and ramp up Europe’s ammunition production.
But as is typical for the bloc and its 27 member states, the details of the agreement must still be worked out and questions remain about the speed of the response — a crucial matter as Ukraine prepares for a spring counteroffensive.
Germany’s defense minister, Boris Pistorius, and his Estonian counterpart, Hanno Pevkur, said after an initial meeting that there had been agreement on the goal of supplying one million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine and instituting some joint procurement of new stocks.
Mr. Pistorius said that ministers will later on Monday “sign the respective documents,” while Germany would also let other countries join in its contracts with German defense manufacturers since speed was of the essence. “Our goal has to be to ship a significant amount of munitions to Ukraine before the end of this year,” he said.
Mr. Pevkur said that “there are many, many details still to solve, but for me, it is most important that we conclude these negotiations and it shows me one thing: If there is a will, there is a way.”
With Ukraine using up artillery shells faster than the West can produce them, the Europeans are pushing ahead with a three-part program.
The first part, which is most urgent, involves pressing member states to send artillery shells from their own dwindling stocks to Ukraine, using €1 billion to reimburse them.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/03...-artillery-aid