President of Latvia: EU should look for shells for Ukraine outside Europe

President of Latvia Edgars Rinkēvičs said this in an interview with Politico, Ukrinform reports.

"We have advocated for a long time that if there is not enough ammunition, or there is not enough equipment in the EU, then let's buy it somewhere else and give it to Ukraine.. It is now important that Ukraine keeps fighting and Ukraine gets what they need," Rinkēvičs said.

According to the newspaper, the question of whether all the ammunition the EU wants to give Ukraine should be produced by companies in the European Union and Norway has been controversial since the beginning of the one million rounds initiative. France, which has the largest defense sector in the EU, insisted on strict restrictions on the involvement of non-EU ammunition in the initiative. At the same time, other states, such as Sweden and the Baltic states, were more open to purchasing shells from outside Europe.

"Our current major challenge is not so much defense spending, we are raising that, but where you can actually find equipment to replenish your stocks, to rearm your defense forces," Rinkēvičs said.

He noted that we should take into account the fact that the war in Ukraine will last longer than it could have been predicted a year and a half ago. Therefore, the EU needs to increase its capabilities.

The Latvian president also expressed concern that problems in the EU could affect the United States, where assistance to Ukraine is also facing political difficulties.

"Where I'm getting a bit concerned when I talk with Americans" is that they are living "under the impression that Europe is not giving enough" even though "we are actually spending more on Ukraine, if we combine both military and all kinds of programs, than the United States," Rinkēvičs said.

"And that's where I think that if they hear again that Europe is not able to produce enough ammunition or to give enough financial support, then this will have some negative impact also in debate in the United States because there is going to be an argument that ‘look guys, if Europe is not doing enough or if Europe doesn't care, then we shouldn't care," the Latvian president said.

As reported by Ukrinform, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the European Union will not be able to fulfill its plan to supply one million artillery shells to Ukraine by March 2024 due to the state of defense production and bureaucratic obstacles.