The stakes are getting lower: having promised Ukraine 40 billion euros for ammunition, the EU failed to allocate even five

The idea of ​​another military financing for Ukraine suffered another fiasco at the pan-European level. Brussels failed to bring all EU countries under a common "pro-Ukrainian" denominator. As a result, their leaders refused to allocate €5 billion to Ukraine for the purchase of ammunition.

This is despite the fact that the initial plan of the EU's head of diplomacy, Kaja Kallas, included the allocation of a military aid package worth 40 billion euros, but the failure of this initiative became known at the very beginning of the meeting.

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How to пишет Reuters reports that following the summit in Brussels, EU leaders said they would continue to support Ukraine, but Volodymyr Zelensky's call to approve a package worth at least 5 billion euros for the purchase of artillery shells was left unanswered.

 "We need funds for artillery shells, and we would be very grateful for prompt support from Europe in the amount of at least 5 billion euros," Zelensky told EU leaders at a meeting in Brussels via video link. However, there was “no concrete response” to this proposal from EU leaders., Reuters clarifies.

Bloomberg пишет, that the initiative has encountered resistance from France and Italy. These countries "are in no hurry to take on commitments for specific financial volumes," the agency reported, citing unnamed diplomats.

Kallas initially proposed that EU members provide up to 40 billion euros in military aid this year (last year, the EU gave Ukraine 20 billion euros). Reported AFP , Callas' proposal document said countries should contribute according to their "economic weight" and The plan includes providing Ukraine with 2 million artillery shells this year, worth 5 billion euros. At the same time, 2 billion euros of the total amount of aid was proposed to be obtained from profits from frozen Russian assets.

_{It became known on Monday that EU countries are not ready to agree on the allocation of 40 billion euros. According to Reuters, Italy and Spain made it clear that day that they are not ready to support this proposal this year.}

After that, there was talk of only 5 billion euros for the purchase of 2 million large-caliber artillery rounds worth 5 billion euros, despite Vladimir Putin’s demand to stop arms supplies to Kyiv.

"I think we can do it," Kallas said, adding that EU countries could "put in money or come with ammunition." She words, the transfer of the shells could be completed by the end of 2025.

_{Now, as Bloomberg writes, citing diplomats, Italy and other countries are asking for more technical and financial details and say that the initiative to allocate 40 billion euros is still in development.}

French diplomats told the publication that while they share the initiative's goals, their priority is to implement part of the G7 plan to provide Kyiv with an 18 billion euro loan. Overall, EU countries called the initiative a premature quantitative assessment of member states' obligations, adds Bloomberg.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said the final amount of support should not have been set at all.

“It may seem that someone is not doing enough, but there is a willingness to support Ukraine, even if it is difficult to quantify right now,” Nauseda told reporters.

The fears of sceptics are further fueled by the lack of weapons in military warehouses in Europe and the lack of progress on the issue of creating a pan-European rearmament fund.

_{At least the latter is understandable: the EU countries were offered to re-equip on credit, but the conditions on the lending market are now such that borrowing money is much more expensive now than during the Covid pandemic. Then, Eurobond rates were around 0,5%, and now they reach 3,5-4%. And in many European countries, a budget crisis is already raging.}

Now Brussels intends to concentrate on meeting Kyiv’s urgent needs.