Brussels asks to increase the shipment of weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, after two years of war

The European Comission insisted this Saturday, two years after the start of the Russian war against Ukrainein which the European Union It must continue to maintain its support for kyiv, especially by providing it with more weapons and ammunition to defend itself against Moscow.

“It is very important that the EU do whatever it takes to support Ukraine, defend themselves and, finally, win the war. One of the most urgent things is to work on the ammunition supply now“said the economic vice president of the European ComissionValdis Dombrovskis, upon arrival at the meeting of EU Economy and Finance Ministers held in the Belgian city of Ghent.

“These days we are discussing the international role of EU and what is our place in the world. I think we should be clear that the number one priority to have an important role in the world is to support Ukraine“, also said the European Commissioner for the sector, Paolo Gentiloni.

The Italian highlighted that “The Ukrainian people and army have shown extraordinary strength and responsiveness” before the russian invasion and considered that the EUfor its part, “You should be proud of what you have managed to do to support Kyiv from all points of view” and staying together, including approving a new macro-financial aid package until 2027.

The Minister of Lithuania, Gintare Skaiste, expressed along the same lines, who urged “redouble efforts” to help Ukraine “especially with weapons and money” and added that “now it is key” that the first tranche of the new aid to Ukraineof 4.5 billion, arrives in kyiv in March to avoid liquidity problems.

“We must understand that we cannot be sure in Europe Yeah Ukraine it is not. Let’s make sure we do everything Ukraine needs to defend itself and us”, he noted.

For her part, the Finnish Riikka Purra emphasized that Ukraine “You don’t need just kind words, but actions” and “In this rather desperate situation it means (sending) more weapons and ammunition to Ukraine”. He also reiterated that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has to “explore ways to invest more in security and defense”.

The European Union managed to overcome Hungary’s veto of the new economic aid package for kyiv for the next four years, which amounts to 50 billion euros, but is still discussing a military support package that would amount to 5 billion euros.

Meanwhile, the finance ministers of the EU They dedicated much of their informal meeting in Ghent this Friday and Saturday to reflecting on how to increase spending on security and defense, also linked to Russian aggression on Ukraine.

With this scenario, more and more voices are calling for expanding the mandate of the EIB, which is now headed by the Spanish Nadia Calviño, so that it can invest in weapons projects and is not limited to financing issues such as research and development or dual-use technologies ( civil and military).