Informal meeting of European Union Defense Ministers, on 7 and 8 March in Stockholm. From left to right: Pål Jonson, Swedish Defense Minister, Jens Stoltenberg (non-EU member, but the only important one since he is Secretary General of NATO), and Josep Borell, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
Defense ministers of the 27 EU countries, meeting in Stockholm, approved the plan – presented by Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy – for “joint procurement of large caliber munitions.”
The meeting was attended by the Ukrainian Defense Minister (despite the fact that Ukraine is not part of the EU), who “explained what Ukraine’s military needs are.” Borrell stated “We are in times of war and we have to have a war mentality.” He then outlined the Plan, which includes three steps:
1) Draw from the stockpiles of EU member states artillery shells, particularly 155 mm, and supply them immediately to Ukraine. The money comes from the European Peace Fund (EPF), which has already earmarked 3.6 billion euros (paid for by EU citizens) for this purpose.
2) Realize an Agreement among the 27 EU member states for the joint purchase of 155 mm projectiles from the side, signing the first seven-year contracts as early as next month. This is a “massive order” both to restore and increase national stockpiles and to secure supplies to Ukraine.
3) Ensuring the long-term increase of ammunition production in Europe by supporting Defense industries to secure supplies to Ukraine in the long run. (The EU plans to supply it with about one million artillery shells).
Borrell also reported that
“by the end of March, our Military Assistance Mission will have trained more than 11,000 Ukrainian soldiers. By the end of the year, we expect to have trained 30,000 soldiers.”
For support to Ukraine, the EU has allocated 18 billion euros (again paid for by European citizens).
Josep Borrell summed up the purpose of the Plan in these words,
“To win the peace, Ukraine must win the war. And that is why we must continue to support Ukraine to win the peace.”
The European Union thus openly descends into war with Russia as part of the increasingly dangerous U.S.-NATO strategy.
The assassination of Konstantin Malofeev, CEO of the Tsargrad Group, was foiled in Moscow.
This is the same type of bomb attack with a bomb placed under the car as the one by which journalist Daria Dugina was killed in August 2022. It is part of a series of terrorist attacks against Russian journalists and media managers carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services under U.S.-NATO direction.