The EU promised to prepare artillery shells for delivery to Kyiv by March 2024. Thierry Breton said that Brussels' goal had been achieved - even though all the ammunition had not yet been delivered.
As for building up Europe's artillery capacity to help Ukraine, the European Commission says it has done its job.
The EU's de facto defense chief, Thierry Breton, last year pledged to prepare a million rounds of ammunition for Ukraine by the end of March 2024, and while actual deliveries to Kyiv are well below that figure, he now says production capacity has reached the magic number.
"We are already at that level today, in other words, we are two months ahead of schedule in our ability to produce more ammunition in Europe, of course for Ukraine, but also for our own security," Breton said Wednesday at a meeting of defense ministers in Brussels.
Western allies have supported Ukraine with billions of euros worth of defense equipment over the past two years as Kyiv continues to resist Russian President Vladimir Putin's all-out war.
The French commissioner said the EU's ammunition production capacity should reach 1.4 million rounds in 2024 before rising to 2 million rounds in 2025.
"Since February of last year, we have significantly increased our ammunition production capacity in Europe, almost 50 percent from what it was," Breton said.
Regarding the question of how many rounds are going to Ukraine, Breton said it depends on the member states, referring the matter to the EU's chief diplomat, Josep Borrell.
"I'm just talking about the industrial base," Breton said.
The EU's munitions support law allocated 500 million euros to countries looking to build up production capacity, and Breton said on Wednesday the plan was to review 82 projects with "between 20 and 30" to be selected for subsidies next year.
