Ukrainian foreign minister calls state of EU defense industry 'miserable'

MOSCOW

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba confirmed on Tuesday a delay in supplies of ammunition from the EU due to "miserable" state of the EU defense industry.

In a televised interview with Ukrainian media, Kuleba said the EU demonstrates political will to support Ukraine, but there are bureaucratic obstacles.

"The reason for this problem is not the lack of EU political will to support Ukraine, there is such a political will, but, let's say, the miserable state of the defense industry. ... It turned out that there are a lot of obstacles, a lot of unsynchronized things, a lot of bureaucracy," he said.

Kuleba noted the EU's efforts to address the situation, but stressed the urgency of doing more and accelerating the necessary actions.

"We really appreciate the support of the European Union, but we will spur them," he said.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrel and German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius have said the EU cannot not fulfill the plan to supply 1 million artillery shells to Ukraine until March 2024.