Last Update: January 23, 2023, 23:12 IST
EU ministers from the Baltic countries meeting in Brussels called for the green signal to send 2 Leopard tanks from Berlin to Kyiv. (Image: Reuters)
The agreement would bring the total EU spending committed to supplying Ukraine’s military to 3.6 billion euros, which is separate from national spending by individual member states.
EU foreign ministers agreed on Monday to spend an extra 500 million euros ($540 million) from their common coffers on arms for Ukraine, diplomats said, as Kyiv requested for heavier weapons.
The agreement will take the total EU spending committed to supplying Ukraine’s military to 3.6 billion euros, which is separate from national spending by individual member states.
In total, European countries have pledged more than 11 billion euros on weapons for Ukraine, EU officials say, less than half of what the United States is spending.
The latest tranche of funding comes as Germany faces immense pressure over its hesitation to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine.
“We need bold, decisive and audacious steps to secure victory for Ukraine in 2023,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted after briefing his EU counterparts.
EU ministers from the Baltic countries meeting in Brussels called for the green signal to send 2 Leopard tanks from Berlin to Kyiv.
Berlin has indicated that it may be willing to allow other countries, such as Poland, to hand over German-made tanks.
Gabrielius Landsbergis of Lithuania said, “I wish I didn’t have to wait one more day for the delivery of the tanks.”
EU funds are used to reimburse member states for weapons delivered to Ukraine.
Foreign ministers also agreed to spend 45 million euros on a training mission set up last year to train an initial 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)