EU officials consider how to acquire more armaments to outmatch Ukraine. Leaders of the European Union are discussing increasing Ukraine’s supply of weapons and ammunition while the country is still at war with Russia.
Leaders of the European Union discussed new approaches on Thursday to support Ukraine in increasing its production of weapons and ammunition in the face of growing concern over the war-torn nation’s future.
Compared to Russia, which has more and better-armed troops, Ukraine has pitifully little munitions. Additionally, there is a growing realization that the EU needs to secure its own security, as concerns about Washington’s commitment to its friends are raised by the U.S. election campaign.
Meanwhile, as the campaign for the June 6–9 European elections heats up, political discourse is reaching a fever pitch, with security emerging as a key concern. Many politicians are attempting to persuade the public that spending might be cut in other areas while highlighting the need of funding the defense sector both domestically and in Ukraine.
Europeans “face a pivotal moment,” according to EU Council President Charles Michel, ahead of the meeting in Brussels. “It is high time we take radical and concrete steps to be defense-ready and put the EU’s economy on a ‘war footing,'” he said, citing the greatest security danger Europe has faced since the Second World War.
Jens Stoltenberg, the secretary-general of NATO, issued a dire warning on Thursday, saying that “the situation on the battlefield remains very difficult.” Ammunition is getting low in Ukraine. Thus, Ukraine requires immediate assistance much more.
The EU is proposing new ideas, chief among them the procurement of Ukrainian armaments and ammunition with the proceeds from the sale of frozen Russian assets.
In punishment for Moscow’s war on Ukraine, the 27-nation EU is now holding almost 210 billion euros ($228 billion) in assets held by the Russian central bank, the majority of which is frozen in Belgium. According to the bloc, the funds may bring in up to 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in revenues annually.
The windfall earnings would be divided since a few member nations, most notably Hungary, refuse to provide Ukraine with weaponry. Approximately 90% of the proceeds would go into a special fund that is currently used by some EU nations to get paid back for the weapons and ammunition they supply.
The remaining 10% would support Ukraine’s military sector by being added to the EU budget. Members who are against providing guns might therefore argue that they are not supplying the nation with weapons.
Olaf Scholz, the chancellor of Germany, stated that purchasing arms and ammunition for Ukraine should be the “first and foremost” use of these earnings. “Giving this use a clear direction right now—the direction of acquiring ammunition, for instance—is important to me,” he stated.
Scholz responded, “I am very sure that we are sending a very clear signal to Putin here,” when asked what message would be delivered to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the event that an agreement is not reached about the use of windfall profits. If he believes that we cannot finance Ukraine for as long as is required, he has overestimated, and the utilization of the windfall earnings is a minor but significant factor.
Following a nighttime missile strike on the nation’s capital, Kyiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the leaders, speaking to him via video connection, to reinforce his military forces with additional artillery rounds and air defense systems.
“Unfortunately, Europe feels embarrassed by our soldiers’ use of artillery at the front lines when Europe is capable of providing more.” He went on to say that Ukraine’s present “air defense systems are not enough to protect our entire territory from Russian terror,” stressing how important it is to demonstrate this right away.
Although some nations wish to utilize the unexpected wealth to aid in Ukraine’s reconstruction, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose nation is presently holding the rotating EU chair, stated that “ammunition is the first necessity.” Naturally, I would like to contribute to reconstruction, but doing so seems kind of worthless if you run the danger of losing the nation.
The heads of Lithuania and Estonia, two of the EU’s most ardent allies of Ukraine, stated that it would be preferable to use the frozen assets directly rather than merely the interest accrued on those billions.
“The harm Russia is doing to Ukraine is far greater than the value of our European assets combined. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas stated, “We have to consider how we can actually accomplish this (so) that our taxpayers don’t have to pay the damage that Russia is causing in Ukraine.”
De Croo also asked his fellow Europeans to be open to fresh perspectives. We’ll require various forms of funding, or at the very least, be willing to talk about it. National payments will be required, and the European Investment Bank (EIB) may provide funding or issue defense bonds, the speaker stated.
Though it still lacks the support of all parties, the notion of issuing defense bonds to pay for military spending through shared debt issuance is starting to gain ground. It would be similar to how the European Union gathered funds through its pandemic recovery fund to stimulate economies.
