EU delivers Ukraine 224,000 shells

BRUSSELS: The EU has delivered Ukraine 223,800 shells under the first part of a plan to provide a million artillery rounds to aid Kyiv´s fight against Russia, a spokesman said on Friday.

Earlier this year, the 27-nation European Union pledged to step up supplies of much-needed artillery shells to Ukraine as Kyiv´s forces faced shortfalls.

Its members agreed a two-billion-euro ($2.18-billion) plan to raid their stockpiles and place joint orders for shells, in a bid to deliver Ukraine a million shells over 12 months.

Under the first stage of the plan, running between February 9 and May 31, one billion euros was earmarked to reimburse EU members roughly half the cost of shells provided from their existing arsenals.

“Member states have delivered around 223,800 artillery ammunition -- long-range self-propelled, precision-guided ammunitions as well as mortar ammunitions -- and 2,300 missiles of all types,” EU spokesman Peter Stano said.

Overall, the total value of the ordnance provided was 1.1 billion euros, the EU said. EU funds reimbursed only part of that, suggesting the measure fell short of the target.