Borrell: Joint EU Arms Plan Will Work but Kyiv Needs Help Now

The European Commission's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles speaks at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
The European Commission's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles speaks at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
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Borrell: Joint EU Arms Plan Will Work but Kyiv Needs Help Now

The European Commission's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles speaks at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)
The European Commission's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell Fontelles speaks at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich, southern Germany, on February 19, 2023. (AFP)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Sunday backed a call for the bloc's members to buy arms jointly to help Ukraine but warned it would not solve Kyiv's urgent need for more ammunition now.

Borrell was responding to an Estonian proposal for the EU to place large ammunition orders on behalf of multiple member states to speed up procurement and encourage European arms firms to invest in increasing their production capacities.

EU officials and diplomats say they are urgently exploring the possibility of joint procurement of 155 millimeter artillery shells to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the Estonian plan in Brussels on Monday.

In a panel discussion with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas in Munich on Sunday, Borrell said: "I completely agree with the Estonian prime minister's proposal, we are working on that and it will work."

But in a speech before the discussion, Borrell said joint procurement could only bear fruit in the medium term. Right now, Ukraine's supporters must quickly send supplies from existing stocks, he said.

"This shortage of ammunition needs to be solved quickly. It’s a matter of weeks," Borrell told the Munich Security Conference, an annual gathering of policymakers.

"This cannot be solved by going into joint procurement ... because any procurement that comes to the market will come at the end of a queue of a long list of orders already passed by the member states."

A major move into joint procurement of munitions would be a sign of greater EU integration, as arms-buying has so far largely been the preserve of the bloc's national governments.

Such a step would need the approval of EU member countries. Several have already indicated they are in favor but the position of others remains unclear.

Kallas told the Munich conference that Russia was firing as many artillery shells in a day as Europe produces in a month.

But she said European defense industry leaders had told her they had yet to receive orders big enough to boost production or invest in increased capacity.

She suggested some European countries were wrongly assuming that the need for more ammunition was a short-term issue.

"It seems to me that some of the countries are still in the hope that it will go away," she said.



Russian Overnight Attack on Ukraine Kills One, Damages Energy Facilities, Ukraine Says 

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
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Russian Overnight Attack on Ukraine Kills One, Damages Energy Facilities, Ukraine Says 

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Sumy, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

At least one person was killed and 10 injured, including three children, in overnight drone attacks by Russia on Ukraine, officials said on Wednesday.

Various attacks also damaged energy facilities in two regions, according to the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The attacks came as both sides accuse each other of not abiding by a US-proposed moratorium on strikes on each other's energy facilities.

"This systematic and constant nature of Russian strikes clearly indicates that Moscow despises the diplomatic efforts of partners," Zelenskiy said. "What's needed is new and tangible pressure on Russia to put this war on a path toward ending."

A drone hit a substation in the northeastern Sumy region and artillery fire damaged a power line in the central Dnipropetrovsk region, cutting electricity to nearly 4,000 consumers, he said on X.

A 45-year-old civilian was killed and two people were injured in a strike on a settlement near the frontline in Zaporizhzhia region, the governor of the southeastern region said in a post on the Telegram messaging app.

Fifteen drone strikes were carried out on Kharkiv, which is Ukraine's second largest city and lies close to the Russian border, city Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a post on Telegram.

Oleh Sinehubov, the region's governor, said that a 9-month infant, a 7-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl were among the eight injured in Kharkiv.

Russia has recently intensified its strikes on the city, with its attacks killing at least two people over the weekend and injuring tens more.

The Ukrainian air force shot down 41 drones out of 74 launched by Russia, it said in a statement on Telegram.

Another 20 drones did not reach their targets, likely due to electronic warfare countermeasures, it added, without saying what happened to the remaining 13 drones.

Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war that began with Russia's invasion in February 2022, saying their attacks are aimed at destroying each other's infrastructure crucial to war efforts.