Politico: EU joint plan to purchase ammunition for Ukraine hits roadblock over contract disagreements

The European Union’s proposed plan to supply Ukraine with one million rounds of ammunition over the next year stalled during meetings with EU ambassadors on April 5, Politico reported, citing several unnamed diplomats familiar with the negotiations.

The bloc’s promise has been hindered by discord on which companies will receive arms contracts, according to Politico.

The primary disagreement has to do with whether contracts should stay exclusively in the EU or also be outsourced to external manufacturers, which has limited progress on production details.

Some member states, like Greece, Cyprus, and France, ostensibly want to avoid contracts flowing to Turkey, according to Politico’s sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The EU also needs to make a detailed outline of the capacity of EU manufacturing companies before being able to move forward in their negotiations.

Until the deal can move forward, the EU will focus on donating pre-existing arsenals of ammunition before finalizing a deal on additional manufacturing.

Upcoming elections can change where Turkey stands on Russia’s war

As Turkey reels from an economic crisis and a devastating earthquake, its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, faces the most nail-biting election since his Justice and Development Party (AKP) took power two decades ago. Erdogan has managed to hold on to power since he became the prime minister in 2003…

Kyiv IndependentAlexander Khrebet