EU Fails to Agree on €5B Ammo Aid for Ukraine as France, Italy Demand More Details

At a European Council summit in Brussels on Thursday, March 20, EU leaders failed to reach an agreement on allocating €5 billion for the purchase of 2 million artillery shells for Ukraine this year. According to Bloomberg, several countries – including France and Italy – refused to commit to specific financial contributions.

France and Italy believe the initiative is still insufficiently developed and are requesting more technical and financial details.

French diplomats stated that while they support the goals of the initiative, their priority is the EU’s €18 billion contribution to the G7 loan package for Ukraine.

According to Bloomberg, France and Italy – the EU’s two largest economies after Germany – are reluctant to publicly disclose how much they are willing to provide, especially when large sums are involved.

Earlier this year, the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas, proposed that EU countries provide up to €40 billion in military aid to Ukraine in 2025. The aid would be voluntary – either in cash or equipment. However, after several countries raised objections, this week’s discussions were narrowed to focus solely on the ammunition component.

Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo advocated for the initiative and complained about the resistance it faced from some EU capitals. Many countries are not “performing adequately” when it comes to arms deliveries to Ukraine, he said.

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At the same time, others criticized the approach of setting contribution figures too early, before securing the countries’ agreement to participate.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said setting numbers first “was done backwards.”

“It may create an impression that someone doesn’t do enough – but readiness to support Ukraine is there, even if it is difficult to quantify it now,” Nausėda told reporters.

Linked by video to the summit in Brussels, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on EU leaders to urgently provide €5 billion for artillery shells for Ukraine. Kaja Kallas had previously put forward a similar initiative.

Zelensky made an urgent plea for the sum to purchase ammunition “as soon as possible,” making reference to a massive overnight drone strike over Ukraine as the war drags on.

“It’s crucial that your support for Ukraine doesn’t decrease but instead continues and grows,” Zelensky said. “And this is especially true for air defense, military aid, and our overall resilience.”