Explaining complex things in simple words: Provision of ammunition, situation in Sumy Oblast, access to Russian assets

PROVISION OF AMMUNITION

The issue of providing Ukraine with artillery ammunition was considered at the 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on March 19.

• Artillery ammunition is the most urgent need of our front. The lack of shells forces the troops to retreat, while a sufficient number allows holding positions.
• Thanks to the Czech initiative, a solution was found to cover the urgent need of the Defence Forces for ammunition.
• Germany, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Canada, and Slovenia joined the Czech initiative. We are grateful to our reliable partners.
• Ukraine will get the declared volumes of shells within two weeks. Already in April, we will receive the minimum required amount of ammunition.
• The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting also covered the issues of increasing the production of weapons, providing Ukraine with air defence—everything related to Ukraine's needs for missiles.

SITUATION IN SUMY OBLAST

Enemy troops keep shelling the border of Sumy Oblast. Since the beginning of March alone, Russian aviation has dropped almost 200 guided bombs on the region.

• Sumy Oblast is one of the most affected regions of Ukraine as a result of Russian aggression. In February-April 2022, large areas of the region were occupied by enemy troops.
• The shelling of the border region and the landing of enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups in Sumy Oblast did not stop in the two years of the full-scale war. Ukraine did not “provoke” Russia into aggression.
• Russian propaganda is trying to present the intensification of its terror in Sumy Oblast as an alleged “revenge” for the fighting of Russian volunteers in the Kursk and Belgorod regions of the Russian Federation.
• In fact, it is not the cessation of hostilities at the Russian border that can guarantee the security of Sumy Oblast, but the strengthening of the defence of the Ukrainian border. In particular, by the deployment of additional air defence systems and the creation of a demilitarized zone in enemy territory.
• Residents of the affected border settlements are provided with assistance. The possibility of evacuation is provided.

ACCESS TO RUSSIAN ASSETS

The EU has developed a legislative mechanism for transferring profits from the blocked assets of the Russian Central Bank to Ukraine. The proposal will be considered at the summit of the European Council on March 21-22.

• Given the merciless destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and the predatory actions of the occupiers, Ukraine has the right to claim frozen Russian assets, and the EU has grounds for their confiscation.
• Unlike Russia, in the EU countries, property is protected by law, so the issue of using frozen Russian assets required careful legislative consideration.
• Russian assets frozen in the EU generate between EUR 15 and EUR 20 billion in profits, depending on current global interest rates.
• The tax received from profits on frozen reserves of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation will allow channelling approximately EUR 3 billion per year to the needs of Ukraine starting from July.
• Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, proposes to use 90% of revenues to purchase weapons for Ukraine and to direct the rest to the EU budget to enhance the capacity of the Ukrainian defence industry.

Center for Strategic Communication and Information Security