Comments by "Ni An 🇺🇦 Merci France from Sweden" (@nian60) on "Rick The Ukrainian"
channel.
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Some EU statistics that might be interesting. (Figures not including the UK or Norway, I presume). EU meeting press brief in Brussels, 31 Jan. 2024. Josep Borrell and Ludivine Dedonder.
NB: only 155mm shells were mentioned. But we already know that some ex. Warsaw Pact nations are providing 152mm shells to UA. If those countries are in the EU now I assume those 152mm shells are also included in these numbers.
Borrell: The EU has so far provided €28 billion of military equipment and support to Ukraine since 2022. The commitment by the EU member states for 2024 so far is €21 billion, and that figure will be adjusted upwards because some states are still pending. The EU have trained 40,000 soldiers, and another 20,000 by this summer.
The EU ammo initiative: the member states promised last year to deliver 1 million arty shells per year. Since last March until Jan. 2024, 330,000 shells have been delivered. By March 2024 there will be another 200,000 shells. By the end of 2024 planned deliveries will reach more than 1 million shells. The situation is however changing every day.
The EU arty production capacity has increased by 40% since Feb 2022. Today the production capacity is 1 million shells/year. By the end of 2024 the capacity will be 1,4 million. It will continue to increase because the industry has been mobilised. Procurement contracts have the remaining spare capacity for an estimated volume of 1,5 billions. (I think Borrell meant €1,5 billion, not sure).
Borrell: “We need to move from an emergency mode for support to UA, to a long-term approach”.
Dedonder, in French and autotranslated, in short: The EU will provide short-term and long-term support to UA. €28 billion is not enough and we will certainly not stop there. Belgium will double its UA aid. The EU industry will produce at least 1 million shells. An enormous amount of work has been done here especially by the Breton commissioner (?) who visited lots of countries. Strengthening of the EU defence industry is needed. It's not easy after many years of disarmaments. We need to put everyone back on track. Everyone has understood the issues. There will be a paradigm shift and structural adaptation. She also mentioned rapid deployment capability in the EU.
A journalist asked what the unbalance on the UA battlefield is. Borrell wouldn't give exact numbers presumably due to OPSEC. But he said UA needs more support and he has passed on to the member states that they need to do more, and quicker. The battle is fierce.
Another journalist asked why we are only at 52% of our ammo goal and what lessons can be learnt from this. Borrell: “It's about creating momentum, setting a goal and expanding. When we said 1 million shells the production capacities were not well identified. We managed to increase capacity by 40%. At the end of the year there will be a new goal. I don't know because the process changes every day. But we have gained speed. There is an initial inertia. But when the movement has begun it's the energy which sets up the factory. We have frameworks for joint procurements. It's about creating a positive dynamic. We will reach a ceiling and continue there permanently. Europe must increase its defense capabilities. Today to help UA and tomorrow to help ourselves.”
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