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Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said he would try to persuade partners within the European Union, especially France, to purchase rounds of ammunition outside the EU to deliver it to Ukraine.
In a March 25 interview with Polish radio station RMF FM, Morawiecki also said that the Polish Armaments Group would make “efforts to multiply production as soon as possible.”
Russian forces use some million rounds of munition a month, Morawiecki said, so production for Ukraine's own supply must be boosted.
On March 20, EU foreign and defense ministers approved an initiative to provide 1 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine jointly.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said at a meeting with EU defense ministers in Stockholm on March 8 that one of the main priorities for Ukraine was more than a million rounds of ammunition. He added that one of the components of Ukraine's “armored fist” would propel its upcoming counteroffensive against Russia.
Reuters reported on March 17 that the agreement would cover 155mm NATO-standard artillery shells.
The EU has committed $1.07 billion for the supply of shells, and possibly missiles, allocated from the $7.5 billion European Peace Facility (EPF), an off-budget funding mechanism for EU actions with military and defense implications.
Poland and other close EU allies of Ukraine aim for the EPF to be topped up by another $3.77 billion.
