Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned on Saturday that the “era of peace” in Europe is over, urging Kyiv’s partners to step up military production.
“For those who do not want to find and spend money on the production of weapons, the era of peace in Europe is over,” Kuleba said during a panel discussion at the Munich Security Conference.
Speaking about the state of ammunition supply in Ukraine, Kuleba said that there are two issues in this regard: the first is the “quantity and sustainability” of the supply, and the second is the delivery of bullets, which he said are some produced for specific manufactured weapons.
“Politicians mark the box, they are responsible for delivering a ton of bullets, but on the ground it becomes a huge technological problem to send the right bullet into the right cannon,” said Kuleba.
Ukraine’s foreign minister said they need much more artillery ammunition and that despite drones becoming “part of the game” they will not replace artillery ammunition.
Indicating that Ukraine has increased production as much as it can, he called on Ukrainian partners to increase production and invest in new production lines, as well as to accept that Russia cannot be “pacified” or “appeased”.
He also repeated the call to the European Union and NATO to launch a program to establish a common space for the defense industry.
“Every time (when) Ukrainian soldiers withdraw from a Ukrainian city due to lack of ammunition, think about it not only in terms of defending democracy and the world order, but also in terms of Russian soldiers coming within a few kilometers of your cities, your homes, your families and children. And if you look at it from this perspective, you will find money,” he added.
Speaking on the same panel, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the G7 supports Ukraine because it means defending freedom, democracy and international law.
“We want peace, but peace with justice, which means that Russia leaves Ukraine,” Tajani said, adding that it was a clear political message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He also said that Italy is already working to help rebuild Ukraine. For example, he said that on Saturday he signed an agreement with the European Investment Bank to co-finance an energy infrastructure project in Ukraine worth 200 million euros.
“We are ready to do more, but we are not the USA, which is richer than us,” said Tajani.
He added that the European Union and NATO support Ukraine’s entry into both organizations, but that it must follow the rules.
“We have to be careful,” Tajani said, adding that Ukraine’s membership in NATO could only come after the end of the war with Russia, AA writes.
