Timeline of EU’s actions to tackle ammunition shortage in Ukraine

Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine begins

Two of Europe’s largest ammunition producers, Nammo and Nexter, start buying an additional hundreds of tons of raw materials to prepare for an increase in demand

NATO member states’ foreign ministers meet. Admiral Rob Bauer, chairman of the NATO military committee, informs the audience that the bloc won’t be able to provide Ukraine with long-lasting support since stocks are low

NATO armaments directors meet. Concerns about possible ammunition shortages are aired by member states for the first time

The EU Commission announces several initiatives to tackle ammunition shortages, including the Joint Procurement Taskforce. It also presents the “Scoping EU defense investment gaps” analysis which calls upon member states to increase investment in their defense and start buying ammunition together

Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, says that Ukraine is running out of Soviet-style ammunition, and moves to use 155-caliber NATO shells, the only ones left

NAMMO, a Norwegian-Finnish company, one of Europe’s three biggest ammunition producers, publicly asks for state aid to ramp up production to meet the rising demand

NATO member states’ armament directors meet. For the first time, they are joined by arms producers

The newly created EU Joint Procurement Task Force concludes that the European defense industry is “aligned for peacetime” and faces “concrete supply chain bottlenecks and shortages.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg asks member states to give more military aid to Ukraine, also highlighting the urgent need for ammunition

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas introduces a plan to speed up ammunition deliveries to Ukraine

EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton announces the Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP) to increase funding for ammunition production.

As part of the ASAP plan, the EU allocates 500 million euros to support the ramp-up of production of ground-to-ground and artillery ammunition, as well as missiles