European countries have already committed more than 50% of the 5-billion-euro ($5.5 billion) package for 2 million ammunition rounds requested by Ukraine, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas said on April 3 in comments reported by Reuters.
Kallas's statement comes after EU leaders decided at a summit in Brussels on March 20 to help cover Ukraine's ammunition needs through aid packages announced by individual countries over the past month.
Addressing the summit online, President Volodymyr Zelensky asked for "European support of at least 5 billion euros as soon as possible" for the purchase of 2 million ammunition rounds.
"These things are moving very well," Kallas said ahead of the EU defense ministers' summit in Warsaw. "We need to get the help to Ukraine as fast as possible. President Zelensky has said that they need 5 billion (euros) to have at least two million rounds."
"I'm glad to see that we already have different proposals or different countries are coming with their input to this, so we have already over 50% of what is needed," she added.
Kallas initially proposed a 40-billion-euro ($43 billion) defense initiative for Ukraine, but European leaders have yet to reach an agreement. The sum of 5 billion euros for purchasing 2 million large-caliber ammunition rounds is seen as a first step that could be achieved before a possible consensus on the more significant tranche.
EU officials have been discussing ways to move the bigger package forward, including basing contributions on consent to avoid a likely veto by Hungary, the bloc's most Russian-friendly country.
Dominic Culverwell
(Updated: )
