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Poland joins EU deal to buy ammunition for Ukraine: defence minister

23.03.2023 19:30
Poland has signed up to a European Union agreement on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, the Polish defence minister announced on Thursday.
Photo:
Photo:Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency/ABACAPRESS.COM via PAP

"We have joined the EU agreement on joint purchases of ammunition for Ukraine," Mariusz Błaszczak said in a tweet.

"Poland has been pushing for the launch of such an initiative from the very beginning," he added, as quoted by his ministry.

"This is great support for our eastern neighbor and an opportunity for the Polish arms industry," Błaszczak also said.

The European Defence Agency (EDA) tweeted on Thursday that "three more member states have signed up to EDA's Collaborative Procurement of Ammunition project." It listed Poland, Lithuania and Spain.

EU leaders meeting in Brussels on Thursday endorsed a plan, agreed by the bloc's foreign ministers on Monday, to send 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year, the Reuters news agency reported.

European Council head Charles Michel tweeted: "To win its freedom, Ukraine needs ammunition. The EU is delivering: 1 million rounds of ammunition urgently."

Michel added: "The EU supports Ukraine in its relentless quest for freedom. We stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

On Monday, 17 EU countries and Norway agreed to jointly buy ammunition for Ukraine and to replenish their own stockpiles, according to an announcement by the European Defence Agency.

Thursday is day 393 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.

(gs)

Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters