EU countries decide to jointly purchase weapons for Ukraine

Eighteen EU nations have agreed to send 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next 12 months. The deal was finalized at a meeting of EU foreign and defense ministers on Monday. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the orders for 155-millimeter shells would be aggregated and fast-tracked through the EU Defence Agency. The plan approved on Monday was based on Borrell's proposal to provide 1 billion euros ($1.07 billion) in EU financial incentives to nations that committed to tapping their ammunition inventories for Ukraine, as well as another 1 billion euros to help fund joint procurement of new shells. Borrell claimed that Russian artillery forces were firing about 50,000 shells a day, and Ukraine didn't have enough ammo to match Moscow's firepower.

The EU has signed an agreement to jointly buy ammo for Ukraine, but details are still being worked out. US officials have estimated that Ukraine is currently firing around 4,000 to 7,000 shells daily. German politician Michael Gahler called the deal a "good, albeit late initiative". He urged member states to deliver to Ukraine as long as it takes for Ukraine to win, and replenish stocks in time.