EU struggles to produce and send the ammunition it promised to Ukraine

BRUSSELS — European Union nations acknowledged Tuesday that they may be on the way to failing Ukraine on their promise of providing the ammunition the country dearly needs to stave off Russia’s invasion and to win back occupied territory.

With much fanfare early this year, EU leaders promised to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine’s front line by spring 2024, an amount goal that would have amounted to a serious ramp-up of production.

But the 27-nation bloc, for more than half a century steeped in a “peace, not war” message and sheltering under a U.S. military umbrella, is finding it tough to come up with the goods.

“The 1 million will not be reached, you have to assume that,” German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said.

After a Tuesday meeting of EU defense and foreign affairs ministers in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also cast doubt on the goal. “So maybe by March we will not have the 1 million shots,” Borrell said.

Estonia’s defense minister, Hanno Pevkur, said it was crucial to ramp up supply of the ammunition.

“Look at Russia. They are producing today more than ever. They are getting shells from North Korea. Europe cannot say that … ‘Russia and North Korea can deliver and we cannot,’” he said.

Some 300,000 rounds have been delivered from existing stocks in the EU so far. With the rest becoming increasingly elusive to source before spring, Latvian Defense Minister Andris Spruds insisted the original target should not be taken too literally.

“Well, of course, 1 million rounds are symbolic. I think aspiration and ambition is important,” he said.