European Union efforts to provide €5 billion ($5.4 billion) in ammunition funding for Ukraine have hit roadblocks, with France and Italy stalling commitments to specific financial volumes, Bloomberg reports citing European diplomats familiar with the closed-door discussions in Brussels.
The delay represents another sign of the challenges the bloc faces in replacing US support for Kyiv, as EU leaders met in Brussels on 21 March to discuss military assistance for Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the summit via video link, making an urgent plea for funding to purchase ammunition “as soon as possible” while referencing a massive overnight drone strike on Ukraine.
“It’s crucial that your support for Ukraine doesn’t decrease but instead continues and grows,” Zelenskyy said, according to a text of the speech obtained by Bloomberg.
The ammunition proposal is part of a larger initiative put forward by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas for members to deliver as much as €40 billion in military aid this year, up from €20 billion in 2024. The plan would make contributions voluntary but proportional to economies. After several countries balked, discussions narrowed to focus on the ammunition component for 2 million artillery rounds.
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France and Italy, the EU’s second-and third-largest economies, resisted committing to specific amounts. Italian diplomats said they need more technical and financial details, while French diplomats emphasized prioritizing the EU’s €18 billion portion of a G7 loan package for Kyiv.
“If we’re not able to decide for the whole year, let’s decide for the short term,” Kallas told reporters, describing the contribution as “realistic.”
Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo supported the initiative while criticizing that many countries are not “performing adequately” on arms deliveries. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda countered that setting funding targets before securing backing “was done backward.”
The funding debate comes as US President Donald Trump pushes for a ceasefire, while Russian President Vladimir Putin wants arms deliveries to Ukraine halted in any broader deal. EU leaders have expressed concern over being sidelined in Trump’s recent phone diplomacy with Putin and Zelenskyy.
The EU has provided €50 billion in military support to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion, compared to the US commitment of $66.5 billion. Meanwhile, Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orban continues to resist efforts to help Ukraine, with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof noting, “I think that 26 countries will find a good agreement and that Hungary won’t go along.”
Read more:
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